
Glass. 
Book. 



^ 



n^^ 






ACCOUNT OF THE PART TAKEN BY THE 



gimfrian gi^ntipanan ^otiftg 



IN THE RETURN OF THE 



BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT 



TO AMERICA. 



/ 



i-ey- 




GEORGE F. HOAR. 



THE BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT. 



ACCOUNT OF THE PART TAKEN BY THE 



gimcrltan gintipiirrau ^ottctn 



IN THE RETURN OF THE 



BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT 



TO AMERICA. 




nVoxtt^Ux, Pa^is., 11. ^. gi. 

PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON 
311 Main Street . 
1898. 



■3 



^0 







NOTE BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. 



The important part taken by the Ajvierican Anti- 
quarian Society, at the instigation of its first Vice- 
President, Senator Hoar, in inaugurating and securing 
the return of the Bradford Manuscript to the United 
States and its deposit in the custody of tlie Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, has made it seem fitting that 
some account should be printed, relating the particulars 
of the successful undertaking and describing the exer- 
cises therewith connected. 

The Committee is indebted to the Secretary of the 
Commonwealth for the use of the portraits herewith 
presented. 



CONTENTS 



Pafce. 

Action of the Amkrican Antiquarian Society 9 

The Banquet 15 

Extract from Proceedings of the Society, October, 1897 . . 28 

Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury 29 

Return of the Manuscript of Bradford's History 33 

Petition of Hon. T. F. Bayard 59 

Affidavit of Harry W. Lee, Esq 61 

Notes of Evidence in the Consistory Court of London . . 62 

Judgment delivered at St. Paul's Cathedral, March 25, 1897 . 63 

Second Judgment, May 29, 1897 70 

Undertaking by Hon. T. F. Bayard 73 

Decree of the Oinsistorial and Episcopal Court of London . 77 

Receipt of Governor Wolcott 82 

Address of Hon. George F. Hoar 84 

Address of Ambassador Bayard 96 

Address of Governor Wolcott 102 

Proceedings of the Legislature 104 



ACTION OF THE SOCIETY. 



ACTION OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN 
SOCIETY. 

At a meetino- of the Council, held Oc'tol)er 9, 189(i, 
Vice-President Hoar stated that the Manuscript of Gov- 
ernor Bradford's History was in possession of the Lord 
Bishop of London, and he was encouraged to l)elieve that 
if proper ap[)lication were made it might l)e restored to 
this countr3^ 

At a meeting of the Council, held October 20, ISJMi, on 
motion of Vice-President Hoar it was 

Voted, that the President a})point a committee of three 
members of the Society who shall obtain the cou})eration 
of the ^lassachusetts Historical Society, the Pilgrim 
Society at Plymouth, and the Governor of the Common- 
wealth in making application, through the American 
Ambassador at London, to the Lord Bishoj) of London, 
for the restoration to jMassachusetts of the original Manu- 
script of Bradford's History of the Pilgrim Plantation, 
noAV in possession of the Lord Bishop of London. 

Voted, that the President l)e one of the connnittee. 

The Committee as ai)})ointed consisted of President 

Stephen Salisl)ur}% Vice-Presidents George F. Hoar and 

Edward E. Hale, and Benjamin A. Gould, LL.D. 
2 



10 American Antiquarian Society. 

At a special meeting of the Council, held May 18, 1897, 
it was 

Voted, that the American Anti(iuarian Society tender to 
the Governor of the Commonwealth, the Hon. Thomas F. 
Bayard and such other invited guests as a committee maA^ 
select, a dinner in Boston on the occasion of the reception 
of the Bradford Manuscrii)t b}^ the Commonwealth. 

Voted, that the President, Dr. Samuel A. Green and 
Arthur Lord, Es(i., be a committee of arrangements with 
full power and with lilierty to add to their number. 

Nathaniel Paine and Francis C. Lowell were subse- 
quently added to the committee. 

The committee sent out the following invitation : 



THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. 

Worcester, May 20th, 1897. 

The Council of the American Anticiuarian Society 
re(|uest yoiu" })resence at a collation at the Parker House, 
Boston, on Wednesday, Twenty-Sixth instant, at 2 o'clock 
P. ]\I., to celebrate the gracious return of the Bradford 
]Manuscrij)t to the Connnonwealth of ISIassachusetts by 
Great Britain, and to meet His Excellency Governor 
Roger Wolcott, Honorable Thomas F. Bajard and Honor- 
a1)le George F. Hoar. 

Very respectfully yours, 

Stephen Salisbury. 
Samuel A. Green. 
Arthur Lord. 
Nathaniel Paine. 
Francis C. Loavell. 



Action of the Society. 11 

At a meeting of the Council, held October 2, 1897, it 



wa.s 



Voted, that the matter of publishing an account of the 
proceedings in coiniection with the reception of the Brad- 
ford Manuscript be referred to the Publishing Committee 
and to Vice-President Iloar, with })ower to act. 

In accordance with the vote of the Council a dinner was 
given at the Parker House, Boston, on Wednesday, Ma}^ 
26, 1897, at which the following gentlemen were j)resent : 



Invited Guests. 

His Excellency Clovenun- Roger Wolcc^tt. 

Hon. Thomas F. Bayard. 

His Honor W. Murray Crane, Lieutenant-Governor. 

Hon. George P. Lawrence, President Massachusetts 
Senate. 

Right Reverend Willia.ai Lawrence, D.D., Bishop of 
Massachusetts. 

Reverend George A. Gordon, D.D. 

Sir Dominic Colnaghi, British Consul at Boston. 

Charles C. Beaman, President of the New England 
Society of New York. 

Hon. John Winslow, President of the New England 
Society of Bi'ooklyn. 

Gamaliel Bradford, a descendant of Governor Bradford. 

WiLLiA3i T. Davis, Pilgrim Society, Plymouth. 



12 



American Antiquarian Society. 



Members of the American Antiquarian Society. 

Hon. Stephen Salisbury, President. 
Hon. George F. Hoar and Rev. Edward E. Hale, D.D., 

Vice-Presidents . 



Edmund M. Barton. 
James P. Baxter. 
Charles A. Chase. 
Franio^in B. Dexter. 
Wilberforce Eames. 
William T. Forbes. 
Samuel A. Green. 
Samuel S. Green. 
J. Evarts Greene. 
Edward H. Hall. 
G. Stanley Hall. 
Henry W. Haynes. 
RocKwooi) Hoar. 
Albert H. Hoyt. 
James F. Hunnewell. 
Edward F. Johnson. 



Leonard P. Kinnicutt. 
Arthur Lord, 
Henry A. Marsh. 
Thomas C. Mendenhall. 
John M. Merriam. 
Daniel Merriman. 
Charles L. Nichols. 
Henry S. Nourse. 
Nathaniel Paine. 
Edward G. Porter. 
Horatio Rogers. 
Charles C. Smith. 
Calvin Stebbins. 
Robert N. Toppan. 
William B. Weeden. 
Justin Winsor. 



THE BANQUET. 



THE BANQUET. 



At the close of the Banquet President Salisbury 
addressed the company as follows : 

Oentlemen of tlie Society and Honored Guests: 

After the enjoyment of the exercises of this morning, 
and filled with the emotions excited by the gracious return 
of the original Bradford manuscript history of Pilgrim 
wanderings and establishment at Plymouth, it seems fitting 
that this Society should congratulate itself that it was 
primarily through the suggestion, exceeding tact and deli- 
cate diph)macy of its first Vice-President, Senator George 
F. Hoar, that negotiations were set on foot and continued, 
until at length this Commonwealth again possesses the 
earliest original documentary record of colonization upon 
the American continent. This priceless volume, written by 
the illustrious William Bradford ten years after the arrival 
of the Mai/floirer on our shores, after strange vicissitudes, 
was discovered in the library of the Bishoji of London at 
Fulham, and 1>y his permission and the decree of the Con- 
sistorial Court has l)een most freely given l)ack to the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and entrusted to the care 
of Ex-Ambassador Thomas F. Bayard, for presentation to 
the Executive of the Commonwealth. The honors of this 
day are rightly given to those who in various ways have 
so nobly cooperated in securing this precious talisman ; 
l»ut we must not forget that without the efforts of our dis- 
tinguished Senator and Vice-President, we should iu)t have 
met for this delightful occasion. 

In accordance with custom the first toast that I will pro- 
pose is the President of the United States, and the respon- 



16 American Antiquarian Society. 

sive foelin2:s of this gatherina' can l)e,st ])e shown by the 
company's rising in recognition of the supreme position 
of the first officer of this country. 

The entire company rose in response and drank to the 
healtli of the President of the United States of America. 

President Salisbury then said : 

The Governor of the Commonwealth has addressed the 
two branches of the Legislature today in a manner so 
fitting, and indicating so clearly his appreciation of the 
historical value of the unique treasure that has Ijcen 
recovered, that aside from our testimony of respect for 
his high official station, we desire to manifest to him our 
hearty sentiments of personal good will. The Governor 
of the Commonwealth, His Excellency Roger Wolcott. 

Governor Wolcott said : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the American Antiqua- 
rian Society: I liardl}^ know how I can add an3^thing to 
the impressive and dignified occasion of the morning. I 
was honored, by my official position, in ))eing al)le to have 
a part, however insignificant, in bringing aljout the decree 
of the Consistorial and Ecclesiastical Court of London 
that led to the restoration of this History to the keeping 
of the people of whose early struggles it tells. 

For this the Commonwealth owes a debt to her senior 
Senator, and I feel privileged, on the part of the Common- 
wealth, to express her indebtedness to Mr. Bayard for so 
successfully having followed out the suggestion. 

The element of pathos noticeable in the book is wiped 
out in victory. It is not a dirge swelling from this vol- 
ume, 1)ut a ptean of victory. 

Today the Connnonwealth adds to its possessions a 
priceless treasure. It has been a day of profound signifi- 
cance as a day marking an important epoch in the history 




ROGER WOLCOTT. 



The Banquet. 17 

of Massachusetts. It will not be a dull and lifeless posses- 
sion, but an inspiration to good citizenship. 

In announcing the third toast President Salisbury said : 

AVe have assurance that b}' the most gracious permission 
of her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the treasure that we have 
this day had returned to us was freely accorded ; and this 
act of the noble lady is in harmony with the uniform 
promptings of her exalted character, and is such a renewed 
manifestation of her friendly disposition toward this 
eountry that it is with feelings of the highest respect and 
gratitude that this Society now desires to propose the 
health of her most gracious Majesty, the Queen. I will 
call upon the British Consul, Sir Dominic Colnaghi, to 
respond. 

After the comi)any had risen and drank to the health 
of the Queen, Consul-General Colnaghi responded as fol- 
lows : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen: I came here today on 
the courteous invitation of the American Antiquarian 
Society to meet some distinguished Americans and, as I 
thought, to listen, tranquilly, to some interesting speeches. 
Most unexpectedly I have l)een called upon to speak 
myself. I have been suddenly exalted ; I trust I may not, 
shortly, be abased. 

The noble words spoken, this morning, of the Queen of 
England, l)y Senator Hoar, have, doubtless, already ])een 
flashed across the Atlantic, and by this time are being 
read, with feelings of deep gratification, by ever}^ Briton. 
Gentlemen, there is a tender feeling in the hearts of ui}^ 
countrymen for the State of Massachusetts, and there is a 
feeling of deep and hearty good will towards this great 
Re})ul)lic. May we not, indeed, in great part consider you 
as our child and regard you as a natural offshoot of British 
law, British energy and British love of freedom ? 



18 American Antiquarian Society. 

I am sure that the Queen will hear of what has been 
said today with the greatest interest ; and I thank you, very 
heartily, for the manner in which you have responded to 
the toast of Her Majesty's health. 

I have learnt that the title "Log of the Mayflower" as 
applied to the Bradford Manuscri})t is incorrect. It may, 
however, be considered a graceful coincidence that the 
present ceremony has occurred on the l)irthday of our 
English Maj^flower — the Princess Ma}" — now the Duchess 
of York. 

Will you allow me, in conclusion, to thaidv you most 
truly for all that has, this day, been said of Kngland. 

President Salisbury then said : 

The details of di})lomatic courtesy, so important in a 
negotiation like that regarding the return of the manuscrijit, 
were entrusted to the care of Ex-Aml)assador, the Honora- 
ble Thomas F. Bayard, and the entire harmony that seemed 
to attend all interviews and formal ceremonies, is proof 
that skill in diplomacy is appreciated, when i)ossessed ))y 
our accredited agents abroad. As one to whom we owe 
so much of today's enjoyment, I will call upon our first 
ambassador to England, the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard. 

Mr. Bayard was received with great applause, and said : 

I feel honored by the invitation to join the American 
Anticjuarian Society at this agreeal)le repast. For the part 
I have had in the restoration of the manuscript of (xovernor 
Bradford to the people and the State that his adventure 
founded, I am well rewarded 1)V my own reflections ; :uid 
if there had ])een no formal reception I should have l)een 
gratified in every wa}^ by the fact that T had it in my 
power to assist in the return of this volume to my countiy- 
men who arc its legitimate owners. 

Mr. Bayard spoke of the change in the title of the repre- 



The Banquet. 19 

sentative of the government to the court of St. James from 
minister to that of aral)assador, and remarked : 

But it did not change the American republic or those 
who represented it in the eyes of those to whom I was 
sent. 

Massachusetts has had an envial)le reputation abroad. 
You have had the three Adamses as h()noral)le representa- 
tives to the court of St. James. You have had a man 
whose name no one woukl mention but with respect and of 
whom no son of Massachusetts woukl speak but with affec- 
tion — James Russell Lowell. Then I could mention Ab))ott 
Lawrence and J. Lothro}) Motley, and the name and pen of 
Nathaniel Hawthorne which have shed lustre upon New 
England ; and my personal friend, Edward J. Phelps, has 
added distinction to the public service. I only mention 
this to say that no mere title of ambassador would have 
made these men more respected, for they were respected 
because they were honorable Americans. 

As you know, my home is in another state, although I 
have much to attract me to New England, inasmuch as my 
grandchildren live here. But it so happened that I have 
not been to New England as often as I could have wished. 

Mr. Bayard spoke of the gratification he felt as ambassa- 
dor in participating personally during his term of service 
in England in three events that had especial interest for 
Massachusetts, — the unveiling of the memorial window to 
John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, at Wickford ; the 
laying of the corner-stone of the memorial church to John 
Robinson at Gains) )orough, and the return of the Brad- 
ford Manuscri})t. 

When I had the book in my possession, said Mr. Bayard, 
or rather when the l)ook had me in its possession, on my 
wa}' across the ocean, I thought of the journey which 
its writer first made, of that weary, tempestuous voyage. 



20 American Antiquarian Society. 

Then I contrasted it with the ocean trip on l)oard the mod- 
ern steamer, on the deck of which the Mayflower and her 
cargo coukl have l>een stoAved away, and which reqnired 
days instead of weeks for the voyage. It is those things, 
what our German friends call the object lessons, that show 
us what has been accomplished. Here you have the vast 
chasm of time l^etween those two voj^ages bridged over, 
and the marvelous events that have now passed into 
history and can never l)e forgotten. 

The incidents I have mentioned were pleasant incidents 
in the duties which occupied my time while in England. 
Of what I did there and of what I tried to do, I shall not 
speak. The record is made up, and I shall stand upon it. 

I am Yevy sure of one thing, and that is that when the 
true history of these four 3"ears is written, when the 
relations of our country and England are more clearly 
understood, it will be seen that the good feeling has been 
advanced, not by formal instruments and statutes so nuicli 
as by the people. There may l)e petty animosities and 
racial prejudices and appeals to ancient feuds and trade 
jealousies, but it cannot divert the current. There is an 
affinity of morals, of ethics, a similarity of the standards 
of justice, of right and wrong, l)etween those who speak 
the English language, and the man who does not i)erceive 
it, or who seeks to thwart it, is l)ound to l)e swept aside. 

Pi'esident Salisbury said : 

The cordial approval and assistance of the Bishop of 
London, whose slightest ol)jection would have created 
insuperable obstacles, should now l)e properl}^ recognized. 
I will call upon Right Reverend AYilliam LaAvrencc to 
respond. 

Bishop LaAvi'ence said : 

As Senator Hoar was telling us this morning the story 
of the return of the manuscript and the courtesy extended 




THOMAS F. BAYARD. 



The Banquet. 21 

by the past Lord Bi.sho}) of London, now Hi.s Grace the 
Archl)i,shoi) of ( 'anterl)uiT, and the present Lord Bishop 
of London, I eoukl not help thinking how the varied inter- 
ests of civilization are inextricably interwoven. These 
gentlemen are ecclesiastics, they are also men of letters 
and historic sense ; they are loyal subjects of the Queen 
and lovers of niaidvind. When, therefore, the recjuest for 
the return of the manuscript came to them, their historic 
sense ap[)reciated the fitness of granting the recjuest, their 
ecclesiastical position gave them the oi)portunity, their loy- 
alty to their oAvn country helped them to realize how loyal 
we are to the traditions of our own land, and their love of 
mankind prompted them to this gracious act that by mutual 
courtesy and sacrifice the bonds l)et\veen nation and nation 
may be made strong. 

Our thoughts today have run far l)e3'ond the Bradford 
manuscript and have touched the sweep of international 
relations and especially of our relations with the mother 
country. The Lord Bisho}) of London Avas, we rememl)er, 
the representative of John Harvard's college, Emmanuel, 
at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Harvard 
College. He carried back to England with him an honorary 
degree and the regard of all those who met him. He is a 
member of the American Anticjuarian Society and a corre- 
sponding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 
These literary associations are also international l)onds. 

We regret deeply the defeat of the Arl)itration Treaty. 
But stronger than an}' treaty, in fact essential to the con- 
sideration of any treaty, are the millions of threads Avhich 
intertwined make a cable })etween land and land that no 
chea}) politics or war fever can ])reak. 

Religion, letters, art, social sympathy and all other 
interests of civilization go to make up this lovers' knot 
betAveen nation and nation. Every scholar, theologian and 
artist, every student of social life, every society for histori- 
cal, scientific or professional research is taking })art by 



22 American Antiquarian Sociefi/. 

coiTesi)ondence, courtes}" and .s3m})ath3" in welding tlie 
nations together. 

The two great Englisli speaking nations have everything 
to gain ])y mutual confidence and good will. Such an act 
of courtesy on the })art of the Bishop) of London, repre- 
senting the })eo})le of England, cannot stand as an isolated 
event, hut touches the sentiment of the citizens of both 
countries. 

God grant that l)y untold uuml)ers of strands of good 
will and sacrifice these two nations may 1)e l)oun(l together 
as leaders in (Christian civilization and exem})lars to other 
peoples of the wisdom as well as righteousness of nations 
like l)rethren dwelling together in unity. 

President Salisbury said : 

The Pilgrim Society, having its seat in Plvmouth, con- 
taining in its membershi[) many lineal descendants of the 
Mayflower settlement, and })ossessing the richest collection 
of relics of the Bradford period, more than an}' organiza- 
tion has reason to be grateful today at the return of a docu- 
ment uniijue in character, as the earliest original record of 
settlement in America, written in the legible and carefully 
chosen language of the first governor of the Plymouth 
Colony. I will call u})on Mr. Arthur Lord, President of 
the Pilgrim Societ3\ 

Mr. Lord said : 

3Ii'. President: In behalf of the Pilgrim Society, which 
was organized three-ijuarters of a century ago to perpet- 
uate the memory of the virtue, the enter})rise and the 
sufferings of those first settlers at Plymouth aiul Avhich 
still preserves such memorials of the early days as the 
haiul of time has s})ared, and in behalf also of the Town of 
Plymouth, if as a citizen I may speak for it, a town whose 
l)eo})le are more interested than any other in the grateful 
observances of this day, I desire to express the acknowlcdg- 



The Banquet. 23 

ments of the Society and of the Town to Senator Hoar and 
Mr, Bayard for tlieir i>eneroii8 and successful efforts in 
securing the return of the Bradford Manuscript. 

It is a debt Avliicli we can never repaA' and which we 
shall never foraet. 

I had hoped, Mr. President, when the ])etition was pre- 
pared and })resented asking for the restoration to Massa- 
chusetts of the History of " Plinioth Plantation," and 
esi)ecially when the report of the proceedings was first 
received and it was there stated that the American Anil)assa- 
dor had suggested as a ])ro})er place of deposit of the 
manuscript, the Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, that if the 
retjuest of the petitioners were granted it might be possi- 
ble to select as its final resting-place some si)ot within the 
limits of the Old C()h)ny, of whose history it is the 
authoritative record and on whose soil it was written hy 
the hand of one, who, as its governor, shaped its destiny 
in the earlier years. 

But today I cheerfully recognize, in vieAV of the state- 
ment of ]Mr. Ba}'ard, that after all, its return Avas not based 
upon any legal right of ours to receive, or u})on any moral 
obligation or duty on their })art to give, l)ut nuist rest and 
rest alone on those strong lines of friendship and kindly 
feeling betAveen the tAvo great peoples, united b}' the com- 
mon ties of language and ])lood, and as an expression of 
international courtesy as grateful as it is fitting. 

The })eo})le of Plymouth have entire confidence that the 
Governor, to whom has been entrusted, under the terms 
of the decree, the duty of selecting its final resting-})lace, 
Avdll Avisely decide and that he Avill select that spot Avhere 
it e\'er Avill be most carefuU}^ preserved and tenderly 
cherished. 

^Ir. Salisljur}^ said : 

The NeAV England Society of Ncav York delights in all 
historical matters of colonial times and is esi)ecially inter- 



24 American Antiquarian Society. 

ested in thi.s occasion. I Avill ask Mr. Charles C. Beaman, 
its President, to respond for the Society. 

Mr. Bcanian said : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen: I have had o-reat pleas- 
ure as one of your a'uests in attending tiie very interesting 
services at the State House this morning and in l)eing at 
this banquet. The New England Society of Xcav York 
has had a special part in the happiness of today l)ecause 
having had the privilege of joining, through its President 
and through its Ex-Presidents, Mr. Evarts, Mr. Choate 
and Mr. Morgan, in the memorial asking the return of the 
Governor Bradford Manuscri})t, it now feels that it has a 
certain rioht to ioin in the thanks and in the conaratula- 
tions and in the o-eneral reioicings. 

We New Engianders in New York will long l)c hap})y 
with you and with New P^nglanders everywhere that this 
precious manuscript is forever to be guarded here, and 
that to this manuscri}>t our children for ages may ccmie 
Avith reverence and here give thaidvs that they are de- 
scended fiom those nol)le men and women who landed 
from the Mai/Jiower or from those other ships that soon 
followed her. The Governor Bradford record Avill never 
grow dull. We are just now all reading Nansen's book. 
Farthest North, giving the story of the voyage of the 
Fram., and we are thrilled as Ave read, but the voyage 
of the Fram Avas a mere })icnic as compared with the 
voj^age of the yiaijjiower. On the Fram Avas health, com- 
fort, almost luxury, and men. On the Mayfloirer Avas 
sickness, scarcity, and croAvded men, Avomen and children; 
and then compare the Bradfortl record of that first av inter 
at Plymouth Avith Nansen's story of the drifting of the 
Fram for six months in the ice. Not a death on the 
Fram and nearly half dead of those from the Mayflower. 

I congratulate you that this manuscri})t is now again our 
treasure. The manner of its finding, the graciousness of 



TJie Banquet. 25 

its return, have greatly added to its value, and I feel that 
we can trul>^ say : 'Tis better it was lost and found than 
never to have been lost at all. 

For nl3^self and for the NeAV England Society of New 
York I thank you for all the pleasure of this day. 

Mr. Salis1)ury said : 

The Massachusetts Historical Society, which claims the 
honor of l)eing the oldest historical organization in this 
country, as it held its first regular meeting in 171)1, and 
1)ecame custodian of a wealth of manuscripts and records 
of old colony times, is largely represented at this ban(iuet 
today. I will ask Dr. Justin Winsor, Vice-President of 
the ^Massachusetts Historical Society, .to respond for the 
Society. 

Dr. Winsor responded briefl}' and said he had many 
years ago seen the manuscrii^t in the library of the Bishop 
of London and with Mr. Motley made an unsuccessful 
attempt to obtain it. 

Mr. Salis1)ury in introducing Senator Hoar said : 
We know what we have enjoyed today and we realize 
the fact that l)ut for the ability and discretion of one of 
our associates our presence Avould not have been desired, 
nor would there have lieen any occasion for our presence. 
Few scholars have a disposition for historical investigation 
so born in them as our associate to whom we have listened 
today with so much edification, and we are only too glad 
to recognize in the Honorable George F. Hoar, the senior 
Senator from Massachusetts, a determination to pursue the 
scrutiny of material untiringl}^ until absolute truth and 
accurac}' are reached. I have the honor to present the first 
Vice-President of the American Antiijuarian Society, The 
Honorable George F. Hoar. 

Senator Hoar spoke as follows : 

Mr. President: You ask me to end the proceedings of 
3 



2(i American Antiquarian Society. 

this interesting; day by a few words in behalf of the 
American Antiquarian Society. 

1 am sorry, as the Vice-President and once the Presi- 
dent of that Society, to say that in one respect it has been 
a great faihire. It has failed to answer the expectation of 
Isaiah Thomas, its founder and first President. As you 
well know, he founded the Society in IS 12. That was 
just at the beginning of our last war with England. He 
provided that our collections and lil^rary should always be 
kept at Worcester, forty miles from the seaboard. That 
was, as Ave all know, that they might not be captiu'ed by 
the British, as he thought would not be unlikely to happen 
if the}" were in Boston. 

But now, eighty-five years afterward, not only the 
whole Society, but the Avhole Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, has l)een captured by two English bishops, flolm 
Milton, in describing our ancestors' departure, in a well 
known passage, said that they "fled from the fury of the 
bishops," and yet what the fmy of the bisho})s could not 
do, what the whole fleet and army of England could not 
do, the good will of two kindly, excellent prelates has at 
hist accomplished. They have taken all Massachusetts. 
The spiritual influence from which Bradford fled, wielded 
in large ])art by the successor of Archbishop Laud, ren- 
dered mild and gentle by the spirit of our day, has taken 
captive, not only the American Antitpiarian Society, l)ut 
the whole Commonwealth. 

Mr. President, there is no greater mistake than the 
prev^alent notion that there is a feeling of animosity 
)>etween the people of England and the people of America. 
I have lately made tAvo trii)s a])road. I have seen peo})le 
of all classes in England. I can say Avhat Mr. Bayard Avill 
also say, that the feeling among Englishmen for America 
is such that although my nationality Av^as Av^ell knoAvn I 
have never heard an unkind, I had ahnost said I haxl never 
heard a cold Avord, spoken by an Englishman. 



The Banquet. 27 

The peoi^le who represent the different chisses in Eng- 
land, the business men, the merchants, the workingmen, 
the gentry, Englishmen of every eharacterand ocfU})ation, 
are in the main lovers of the jieople of the United States. 
The peoi)le of the United States, notwithstanding what 
may be said in the press and in foolish and exaggerated 
})oliti('al argument, are in the main lovers of their kindred 
beyond the sea. 

Our acconn)lished friend, Mr. Winsor, told us just now 
of his conversation by telephone with the editor of a great 
New York daily. Mr. Winsor is a very bold man. He 
evidently does not expect any important office, just at 
present. He was bold enough to tell the editor that " he 
had listened to a very foolish story." Noav, if any Ncav 
York editor or New York correspondent of a London 
editor thinks there is hatred, there is i)rejudice, there is a 
feeling of jingoism, prevailing to any great extent in the 
United States toward England, he has listened to a very 
foolish story. 

M}^ friend, Bisho}) Lawrence, referred to one of the 
chief regrets of my own public life, — the failure of the 
arbitration treaty. 1 cannot, of course, speak of what 
happened in the executive session of the Senate. But if 
the newspapers are right, and whether they are right or 
not I must not undertake to tell you, after that treaty had 
been amended so as to correspond almost exactly to Lord 
Salisbury's original desire, a desire wdiich he very reluc- 
tantly }delded in his discussions Avitli Mr. Olney, the treaty 
came within three votes of receiving a two-thirds vote in 
the Senate, or would have been saved l)y a change of 
three votes. Whether this be true or not I will not say. 
But this is what the newspapers tell you. 

If the newsi)apers are right the treaty was defeated 
chiefly l)y the \'otes of the states lately in rel)ellion and 
the sparsely settled new states which Avere but a short 
time ago a Avilderness. The great majorities of the Ameri- 



28 American Antiquarian Society. 

can p()})iihition are, in my opinion, heartil)^ in accord Avith 
the 8})irit of })eace and good Avill l)y which that treaty 
Ava.s inspired. 

Why ! that Engli-sli island is half ours. Its story is the 
story of our ancestry. Its history, its eight hundred 3^ears 
of advancement towards civil and religious liljert}^ is oiu's 
also. Wc are inheritors of its fame. Upon its loveliness 
the eyes of our ancestors gazed. We have a share in its 
beautiful temples. I never look without a feeling of love 
and a thrill of delight ui)on those magnificent cathedrals, 
and without ])eing tempted to exclaim, 

" Oh, pull not down those palace towers, which are 
So lightly, beautifully built." 

The beautiful parish churches with the holy ground 
about them hold the dust of our ancestors as Avell as theirs. 
How they seem to have groAvn into the landscape as if the 
very stones loved to l)e there I 

As our friend has said, the utterances of today will be 
read across the sea. If any Englishman is to read what is 
said today, I am glad to be able to utter as the last word 
in this day of the jubilee of that gracious Queen — the 
Queen, (iod 1)less her; England, God preserve her. 



\_FToni Proceedings of the Sociefi/, October, 1S97.'\ 
Rev. Edward E, Hale said : 

A 3'ear ago, when we were here, our senior Vice-Presi- 
dent re})orted to us the condition and ])ros})cct of the 
Bradford Maiuiscript. In the year which has })assed we 
have had the great happiness of receiving the manuscript 
in a stately ceremonial Avhit-h was really worth}" of the 
occasion, and I have prepared this resolution : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Society be presented 
to our Senior Vice-President, Senator Hoar, for the i)art 
which he has taken in rcturninir the Bradford ]\Ianuscrii)t 
to this countr}' ; we recognize the value of his services from 



The Banquet. 29 

tlie beginning to the end, and assure him that his name 
will always be remembered l)}^ all })atriots who use this 
first record of our pul)lic histor3^ 

This resolution was unanimously adoi)ted. 



The following letter from the Archbisho}) of Canterbur}' 
finds a fitting place here : 

Lambeth Palace, S. E., 11 June, 1897. 

My Dear Sir : 

I am indeed most gratified for the kindness 3^ou have 
shown in sending the account of the proceedings at the 
reee})tion of the Bradford Manuscript hy the Governor of 
Massachusetts. And the words used at that reception by 
3"ourself and by the other speakers will long burn in many 
English hearts as ex})ressing the warm feelings which so 
many Americans cherish toward the Mother Countiy. Be 
assured that the strong respect and affection Avhich is felt 
in England towards the Great RejHildic of the West, our 
jn-ide in your greatness, and desire for your good will, 
although they may wax and wane as human things inevita- 
bly do, 3'et will never perish. I pra3^ God to bless the 
deep felt S3aiipath3^ that links our hearts to yours and 
binds us closer together than any other two nations ever 
were or ever will be bound. 

Believe me 

Yours very sincerely, 

F. CANTUAR. 

The Honoralde G. F. Hoar. 



RETURN OF THE MANUSCRIPT. 



THE RETURN OF THE MANUSCRIPT OF BRADFORD'S 

HISTORY. 

BY GEORGE F. HOAR. 



The American Antiquarian Societ}^ had so large a shave in 
procuring the restoration of the Bradford Manuscri})t, that 
its Proceedings seem to l)e a proper place to record the 
facts connected with this most interesting transaction. 

The story of the discover}^ of this long-lost document, 
in. the library of the Bishop of London at Fulham, was 
narrated ])y our associate, Mr. Charles Deane, in the intro- 
duction to the edition of Bradford's History, published by 
the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1856 (Mass. Hist. 
Soc. Collections, 4th Series, Vol. 3) ; and by our associ- 
ate, Mr. Justin Winsor, in a paper published by the same 
society in 1883. (Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, Vol. 19.) 
Mr. Winsor has also given an account of some former 
attempts to procure the restoration of the manuscri})t to 
this country, in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, April, 1897. 

These narratives are easily accessible and seem sure of 
lasting preservation. It is not necessary to repeat them 
here. 

The writer was called upon to deliver an oration at 
Plymouth, December 21, 1895, on the Two Hundred and 
Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Landing. In the dis- 
charge of that duty he, of course, read Governor Brad- 
ford's narrative again, with a new and enthusiastic admira- 
tion for his character, and the simple dignity and beauty 
with which he tells the noble story. 



34 American Antiquarian Society. 

From this came the new and successful attempt, an 
account of which was given to the Legislature when the 
manuscript was received hy the Governor, in the presence 
of the two Houses, as set forth herein. 

The writer's conversation with Bishop Temple was 
reported to the Council of the American Antiquarian 
Society at a meeting in the autumn of 1896. The Council 
authorized the President to appoint a committee to join in 
the application. Like committees w^ere appointed by the 
Massachusetts Historical Societ}^ the Pilgrim Societ}' of 
Pl>'moutli and the New England Society of New York. 
The following letter, signed by the several committees, 
was addressed to the Bishop of London and transmitted to 
him through Ambassador Bayard : 

Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. A., 

December 21, 1896. 

To THE Right Rev. the Bishop of London. 

My Lord : We have been directed b}' the American 
Anticjuarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, and the New England 
Society of New York, with the cooperation of the Governor 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to call your Lord- 
ship's attention to the manuscript history of \^'illiam Brad- 
ford now in the Library at Fulham, and to ask that your 
Lordship direct that it l)e given to the American Ambassa- 
dor to be by him restored to Massachusetts. 

The author of this manuscript was Governor William 
Bradford, the second Governor of Phinouth CV)lony, and 
one of the leaders of the band of i)ilgrims who left England 
in 1G08, and after dwelling for thirteen years in Holland, 
crossed the Atlantic in the Mayjioiver, and made the first 
Enolish settlement in what is now the United States of 
America, with the exception of the settlement at James- 
town, Virginia, which was subseijuentlj" abandoned. This 
manuscript is justly regarded by Americans as a precious 
relic. It contains the history of the formation of Plymouth 
( Jolony, of the voyage of the Pilgrims in the Mayjioicer, 
of the landing at Plymouth, and of the first twenty-eight 



Return of the Manuscript. 35 

3^ears of the Colony. If there should be found a manu- 
script history in the handwriting of King Alfred of his 
own reign and of the conflict with the Danes in which he 
was the leader, it could hardly be more precious to English- 
men than this manuscript is to Americans. 

The history of the document, so far as it is known, is 
contained in an ancient inscription which you will find on 
the fly-leaf, as follows : 

"This ])ook was writ by Governor William Bradford 
and given to his son. Major William Bradford and hy 
him to his son. Major John Bradford, writ by me 
Samuel Bradford, March 20th., 1705." 

On the next leaf is the following : 

"Tuesday, June 4th., 1728. 

" Calling at Major John Bradford's at Kingston near 
Plimouth, son of Major Wm. Bradford formerly Dep. 
Gov'r. of Plimouth Colony, who was eldest son of 
Wdi. Bradford, their 2d. Gov'r. & author of this 
History; — ye sd Major John Bradford gave me 
Several Manuscript Octavoes wh he assured me were 
written with his said grandfather Gov'r Bradford's 
own Hand. He also gave me a little pencil book 
wrote Avith a ])lew lead pencil hy his sd Father ve 
Dep. Gov'r and He also told me 3^t He had lent and 
only lent his sd grandfather Gov'r Bradford's Historj'' 
of Plimouth Colony wrote by his own Hand, also, to 
Judge Sewall ; and desired me to get it of Him or find 
it out, & take out of it what I think })roper for my 
New England Chronolog>^ : wh I according]}^ ol)tained 
and This is ye sd Histor}^ ; wh I find wrote in ye same 
Hand wi'iting as ye Octavo Manuscript alwve sd. 

"THOMAS PRINCE. 

"N. B. I also mentioned to him my desire of lodg- 
ing this History in ye New England Library of Prints 
and Manuscripts wh I had been then collecting for 23 
years, to wh he signified his willingness onl}^ yt He 
might have ye perusal of it while He lived. 

"T. PRINCE." 



36 American Antiquarian Society. 

This inscription follows : 

THIS BOOK BELONGS TO 

THE NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY 

BEGUN TO BE COLLECTED BY THOMAS PRINCE 

UPON HIS ENTERING HARVARD COLLEGE, JULY 6 

1703; AND WAS GIVEN BY 

IT NOW BELONGS TO THE BISHOP OF 
LONDON'S LIBRARY AT FULHAM. 

These inscriptions seem to make it clear that the manu- 
script belongs to the Prince Li1)raiT. That Library was 
o-iven by the Rev. Thomas Prince, who collected it, to the 
Old South Church in Boston. Prince was an eminent 
scholar and antic juary. So the case would seem to lie 
that of a valual)le maiuiscript belongino- to one liln-ary 
having by some unexplained accident got into another 
liln'ary. 

The Prince Library became the pro})erty of the Old 
South Church in Boston, and has l)een recently deposited 
by that church in the pul)lic lil)rarv of the City of Boston, 
one of the largest and ))est lil)raries in the United States, 
where it is likely to remain. 

It is not certainly known how the manuscript came to 
the Lil)rary at Fulhani. Some i)ersons conjecture that 
Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of JVlassachusetts just before 
the breaking out of the Revolutionary^ War, carried it with 
him to England and ultimately placed it in the Fulham 
Li])rary. Hutchinson was a scholar, a collector of histori- 
cal material, and the author of a singularly impartial History 
of Massachusetts. If this conjecture be true, it is clear 
that the property in the manuscript never could have been 
changed l)y this transaction. 

The only other })lausiljle conjecture concerning the trans- 
fer of the manuscript to Fulham is that it may have been 
carried off by the British army under Sir William Howe, 
or l)y some jierson who left Boston in their company, 
when that town was evacuated in March, 1776. The Old 
South Church had l)een taken possession of by the soldiers 
and used as a riding-school. The Prince Library was at 
that time in a room in the chiu-ch tower. It is possible 
that some curious officer took possession of the manuscript 



Return of the 3Ianuscript. 37 

and carried it liome Avith him. But in that way no title to 
it by conquest, or as booty, or prize of war, could have 
been o-aincd. Boston was never hostile territory to the 
English army before its evacuation. It Avas in the posses- 
sion of the royal troo})s, and the royal authority over it 
Avas undisturbed until March Ifith, 1776, the day of the 
evacuation ; although the rebels possessed the surrounding 
country and l)esieged the town. The indejiendence of the 
United States Avas not declared until the Fourth of July, 
1776. So the case is the same as if during the English 
Rebellion some rebel forces had l:)esieged Oxford or Cam- 
l)ridge, and compelled the King's troo})s to evacuate the 
l)lace. Surely any book or nianuscrij)t which might have 
l)een carried off from the University Library b^' an}' mem- 
ber of the evacuating force Avould not be deemed to have 
changed oAvnership if it had been afterAvard de})osited at 
Fulham . 

If, hoAvever, the manuscript be treated as mere booty, 
Ave are not disposed, for the purpose of this api)lication, 
to deny that in such case the property Avould have passed 
in accordance Avith the strict law of Avar. But we confi- 
dently sul)niit to your Lordship that no civilized nation, 
least of all so enlightened and lil)eral a nation as Great 
Britain, Avould in modern times avail itself of that principle 
in dealing Avith the i)ro})erty of libraries, imiversities, or 
other seminaries of education. There are several interest- 
ing precedents Ijearing upon this matter. These precedents 
shoAV that in the bloodiest and angriest wars such })ro})erty 
is respected as forming an exception to the scA'cre rights 
of Avarfare, and is entitled to in-otection. When the })os- 
se.ssion of such property has been changed l)y military 
o})erati()ns, the conqueror has hastened to restore it. The 
Government of the United States in its "Instructions for 
the Government of Armies in the Field," originally ])re- 
pared by Dr. Lieber, revised l)y a l)oard of officers of which 
]Maj()r-General Hitchcock Avas President, and a})})r()ved l)y 
President Lincoln in 18()o, binds itself by this rule. 

We are told that the Emperor of Russia has recently 
given a conspicuous exanq)le of respect for this })rinciple 
l)y ordering the restoration of })roi)erty Ijclonging to a 
pul)lic lilirar}^ ca})tured l)y his troo})s. 

But Ave prefer in this matter to rest ui)on the precedents 



38 American Antiquarian Societij. 

established 1)Y Enii:land herself, who has so often set to 
mankind an exani})le of justiee and moderation in the 
enforcement of the laws of Avar. 

Daring our War of Independence, the buildings of the 
college of William and Mary were re})eatedly occu])ied by 
British troops. They Avere in every instance res})ected as 
sacred to the cause of letters, and left intact. After the 
close of the war, Louis XVI., the ally of America, caused 
the l)uildings, accidentally destroyed by the fire of his 
troops, to be replaced and every injury to l)e repaired. 

At the occupation of Paris in 1815, the allied sovereigns 
rejected the princi})le that objects of art were legitimate 
spoils of war, and restored to the nations of Euiojie many 
famous statues and pictures which France had accunndated 
in Paris, the trophies of her wars. 

In our war with Great Britain in 1812, a numl)er of 
paintings and prints, designed for the Academy of Arts at 
Philadelphia, were ca[)tured on their passage from Italy, 
and taken into Halifax. Dr. Croke, the distinguished 
judge of the admiralty court, without hesitation, ordered 
them to be restored. He said, "The arts and sciences are 
admitted among all civilized nations as forming an excep- 
tion to the severe rights of warfare, and as entitled to favor 
and protection. They are considered, not as the })eculium 
of this or that nation, l)ut as the property of mankind at 
large, and as Ixdonging to the common interest of the 
whole species.'' He added, "Heaven forbid that such an 
api)li('ation to the generosity of Great Britain should ever 
l)e ineffectual." Case of the Manpiis de Somerueles, 
Stewart's Nova Scotia Rep., p. 482. 

The British troops, under Tryon, wlien th(\v ()ccu])icd 
Yale College in 1779, spared the college I)uildings, aUhough 
its students in arms harassed their approach. But Presi- 
dent Cla})'s manuscripts Avere carried off. President Stiles 
addressed a letter to General Tryon, in which he repre- 
sented that "a Avar against science had been re})robated for 
ages by the Avisest and most poAverful generals. The 
irreparable losses sustained by the Alexandrian Library 
and other ancient monuments of literature have })rompted 
the victorious conunanders of modi-rn ages to exem))t these 
monuments from the ravages and desolations inseparable 
to the highest rigors of Avar." (jreneral Trj'on replied. 



Return of the Manuscript. 39 

that " disposed by i)riiiciple as well as iiicliiuition to pre- 
vent the violence of war from injuring the rights of the 
republic of learning, he very much approved of the Presi- 
dent's solicitude for the recovery of the manuscripts," and 
caused every effort to be made for their recovery and 
restoration. 

It is, Ave suppose, due to this humane and benevolent 
principle that the ancient schools and colleges of England, 
whatever side they may have taken in the ci^il wars, have 
enjoyed innnunity from injury, when even her stately and 
venerable cathedrals have not been spared. These schools 
and colleges have survived all changes of dynasty, all 
changes of institutions and manners. Puritan and Cavalier, 
York and Lancaster, have fought out their l)attk's, and jet 
in the wildest tempest of i)ul)lic excitement, they 

Lift not their spears against the Muses' bower. 

xV recent instance in our oAvn history shows that the 
people of the United States are dis})osed to follow the 
example set them b}^ their English kindred. We send vou 
an extract from a report printed in the Bulletin of the 
Liln-ary Co. of Philadelphia, for July, 1867. 

"In the autunm of last year the attention of the 
Board of Directoi's was called to five volumes of 
Manuscripts which had l)een presented to the Library 
in 1799. An examination of these volumes made it 
evident that they were a part of the National Archives 
of Great Britain. They consisted of official corre- 
spondence relating to Ireland, mau}^ of the letters 
l)earing the sign manual of King James I. and one of 
Elizal)eth. It was first ascertained through Mr. Hej)- 
wortli Dixon, who was familiar Avitli the State Pa])ers 
preserved in the Rolls House in London, that the 
series of Letters of which these volumes were a part, 
is preserved in London in the custody of the Master 
of the Rolls. The directors, considering that there 
was an eminent })ropriety in the j\IS. l)eing restored 
to the British Government as a portion of their })ublic 
archives, an offer to do so was made to Lord Romilly, 
the Master of the Rolls. The offer was transmitted 
to the Lords of the Treasury, and was by them grate- 
fully accepted." In the course of the corresi)ondence 



40 American Antiquarian Society. 

Avhicli eii.sued Lord Roiiiilly desires "to ex})ress to the 
Library Comi)any of Pliiladelpliia (his) deep sense 
of the obligation conferred ])y them on the British 
Nation, and (his) conviction that this, and acts of a 
similar character will rivet more closely the ties of 
. friendship and res})ect which already bind our countries 
together." 

The following letter on this sul)ject Avas received from 
Sir Frederick ^Y . A. Bruce, G. C. B., the British Minister 
at Washington : 

"British Legation, Washington, D. C, 

''Feb. 27, 1867. 

" Sir : The Master of the liolls has brought under 
the notice of the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's 
Treasury the offer made through you by the Directors 
of the Lil)rarv Company of Philadel})hia, to restore to 
the British Government a valuable and important })art 
of the national records of Great Britain, which have 
been found in their collection. 

"I am instructed to say that the offer is gratefully 
accepted by their Lordships, and it is my })leasing 
duty at the same time to add that the honorable and 
disinterested spirit which has })rom})ted the gift, ia 
highly ap})reciated l)y her Majesty's Govermnent." 

We suppose that a thorough research would discover 
many other examples of the observance of this humane 
principle 1)y civilized nations in modern times. But we do 
not conceive that it is necessary to multiply instances. We 
are (juite sure that if there were no i)recedent yoiu' Lord- 
shi}) would bo glad to establish one. 

GEORGE F. HOAR, 
STEPHEN SALISBURY, 
EDWARD EVERETT HALE, 
SAMUEL A. (JREEN, 
for the American Antiquarian 

/Society/. 



Return of the 3Ianuscrq)t. 41 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, 
AA^ILLIAM LAWRP:NCE, 
CHARLES W. ELIOT, 

for the MussacJiusetts Historical 

Society. 

ARTHUR LORD, 
WILLIAM M. EVARTS, 
WILLIAM T. DAVIS, 

for the Pilgrim Societij 

of Plymouth. 

CHARLES C. BEAMAN, 
JOSEPH 11. CHOATE, 
J. PIERPONT IMORGAN, 

for the JSfew England Society 

of New York. 

ROGER AYOLCOTT, 

Lieutenant Governor of 
Massachusetts, 

and acting Governor. 

At the same time the foHowiiig })i'ivate letters were 
addressed to the xVrchhisho}) of Canterl)ury and the Bishop 
of Loiuh)!! : — 

November 18th, 181)(i. 

To THE Right Rev. the AncHBiSHor of Cantehiutry : 

My Lord : You will doul)tless remember the brief con- 
versation I had with ^^ou at Fulham on the twenty-second 
of Se})teml)er last, in which I ex})ressed a strono- desire 
for the restoration to Massachusetts of the manuscript of 
Gov. William Bradford's History. This is to Americans 
the most, precious relic of the kind in existence. It con- 
tains the history of the gathering of the Pilgrim com])any 
in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, their life for thirtei^n vears 
in Holland, the voyage of the Mayflower, and the Pilgrim 
State at Plynu)uth for its first twenty-eight years. You 
were good enough to say that while }'ou had not known 
4 



42 American Antiquarian Society. 

before how hio-hly this manuscript is esteemed hy Ameri- 
cans, that if it had depended on you it would have gone 
back to America long ago. You said further that before 
taking action you should deem it })roper to consult the 
Archl)ishoi) of Canterl)ury, and that you thought the per- 
mission of the Queen should be obtained. 

A communication has been sent to the present Bishop 
of London, signed by representatives of two of our most 
distinguished historical societies and of the Pilgrim Society 
of Plymouth and of the New England Society of New 
York and by Governor Wolcott, the present acting Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, of which State the old Pl3'mouth 
noAv forms a })art. I have not felt at liberty to quote the 
conversation I had with 3'ou in this connection because I 
was not sure that I Avas at liberty to repeat it, and l^ecause, 
also, I sujiposed you Avould prefer to state j^our oAvn opin- 
ion on such a question to having an303ody undertake to 
state it for you. But I shall be much obliged to you if I 
am right in my understanding of what you said, and you 
remain on further reflection of the same way of thinking, 
if you will make your opinion known to your successor. 

I have a very pleasant memory of my brief visit at 
Fulham, as also of the few days spent at INIr. Grenfell's 
delightful home on the Thames. 

I am, with high regard, 

Faithfully yours, 

GEO. F. HOAR. 

I enclose a copy of the application to the Bishop of 
London. Mr. Bayard, the American Aml)assador, will 
forward it and will doubtless state the title to respect and 
confidence of the gentlemen who sign it. 

November 18th, 1896. 

The Right Reverend the Bishop of London : 

Mv Loud : I had the honor, last September, of a l)rief 
conversation with your i)redecessor, noAV the Archbishop 
of Canterbury, in regard to the restoration to Massachu- 
setts of the maniiscrij)t of Bradford's History, now in the 
Library at Fulham. It was understood that when I got 
back to the ITnited States a formal application for the 



Return of the Manuscrij^t. 43 

restoration of this manuscript should l)c made to the 
Bishop. I will not undertake to state the conversation 
l)ecause I sui)})ose his Lordship will prefer to make known 
his opinion for himself, if he deem })roper to ex})ress it, 
rather than to have it repeated at second hand. 

One thing has occurred to me to sa}" in addition to what 
is said in the more formal letter which will 1)e forwarded 
1)V the American Am))assador. It may be that your Lord- 
ship would hesitate about disposing of a nianuscri})t which 
is the property of the Bishop's Library, and so held by you 
in a pul)lic and fiduciary, and not a jn-ivate capacity, with- 
out an Act of Parliament, or some authority other than 
you have, and I suppose this hesitation Avould be entire Ij^ 
reasonable. But if 3'ou should l)e satisfied that the manu- 
script is not the property of the Library l)ut has found its 
way there l)y some mistake or accident, I su])pose you 
would have the authority to deal Avith that (question without 
requiring the ap})roval of anybody else. If a book belong- 
ing to the British Museum were found at Fulham, even if 
it had been there a hundred years, I presume a'ou would 
direct its restoration, without asking anybody's leave, with 
as much prom})tness, if the case were clear, as if any visitor 
left his cane or umbrella in the Library by accident. But 
of all this you are much the most competent judge. 

I am, with highest resi)ect. 

Faithfully yours, 

GEO. F. HOAE. 

It is to ])e observed, that the reprint of the History made 
by the Massachusetts Historical Society under the direction 
of Mr. Deane does not contain the very important entry 
which is found on the fly-leaf following that copied in our 
letter, viz. : 

" But Major Bradford tells me & assures me that he 
only lent the book of his Grandfather's to Mr. Sewall 
* & that it l)eing of his Grandfather's own handwriting 
He had so high a value for it that he Avould never i)art 
with ye pro})erty, ])ut would lend it to me & desired 
me to get it, which I did, and Avrite down this, that so 
]Major Bradford and his Heirs may be knoAvn to be the 
rio;ht owners." 



44 American Antiquarian Society. 

The entry of June 4, 1728, standing alone, would seem 
to afford strono; ""round for believina^ that it was the intent 
of ]\Iajor Bradford to give the manuscript to the New 
England Lil)rary known as the Prince Lil)rar3^ It is true 
that Prince speaks of the desire to Avhich Major Bradford 
assented as a desire of " lodging " this history in the New 
England Library. But the sti})uhition that Major Brad- 
ford might have the perusal of it while he lived Avould 
seem to ini})ly that it was expected that the title would 
pass. Otherwise the stipulation would be unnecessary 
and of no effect. So the letter to the Bishop stated that 
"these inscriptions seem to make it clear that the nianu- 
scri})t l)elongs to the Prince Library." But the inscription 
on the next leaf, overlooked b}^ the })erson who made the 
copy for the pu])lication by the Historical Society, seems 
to have been made for the purpose of preventing any infer- 
ence that the })ropert3^ in the manuscript passed by the 
transaction. It is further to be observed that the book- 
plate which follows the first entry, which reads as follows : 

TPIIS BOOK BELONGS TO 

THE NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY 

BEGUN TO BE COLLECTED BY THOMAS PRINCE 

UPON HIS ENTERING HARVARD COLLEGE, JULY 6 

1703; AND WAS GIVEN BY. 

is not filled out. Mr. Winsor, who formerly had the 
custody of the Prince Library in his official capacity as 
Librarian of the Boston Public Library, says : 

"The Bradford manuscrii)t has in it the book-plate 
of the Prince Library, and though there is doubt 
whether it Avas })laced there by Prince or by the 
deacons of the Old South Church, the fact that it is 
not iiUed out in writing as Prince Avas in the habit of 
doing Avhen he himself inserted the plates, may not 
bar the claim of the Boston Public Lil)rary to possess 
the treasure, as a re})rcscntative of the deacons, on 
the ])lea that the affixing of the })late is prima facie 
evidence of the surrender at that time of the claim of 



Helurn. of the Manuscript. 45 

the Bradford heirs. There is strong reason to believe 
that the ])late was not put in l)y Prince. 

"There are in Prince's hand some nienioranchi on 
the H^'-leaves of the manuscript which acknowledge 
that on June 4, 1728, it came into his hands for use 
only, and that Major John Bradford, the grandson of 
Governor Bradford, and from whom he had received 
it, had not parted with property in the book. There 
is, moreover, in another note, a distinct averment 
that " Major Bradford and his heirs ' are the ' right 
owners' of it. This raises the <]uestion of moral if 
not legal ownershij), involving the application of the 
law of limitations." 

Taking the two entries together, it would seem that all 
that can l)e inferred from them is that the manuscript was 
once in the possession of the Prince Lil^rary with the con- 
sent of Major Bradford, the owner. He consented that 
the history should be "lodged" there. Prince uses the 
word "lodged," not "given" in his request. That ordina- 
rily implies a temporary and not a permanent possession, 
or, to take AYebster's definition, "to furnish with a tem- 
porary hal)itation ; to provide with a transient al)iding- 
place." All that there is on the other side is the language 
of Prince that Major Bradford provided that he might 
have the perusal of it while he lived. It ma}^ l)e said with 
great force, that he would have had no occasion to make 
such a stipulation unless he parted with the property. 
But, on the other hand, it is not unlikely that an expres- 
sion of his expectation to use it might be inserted even if 
he were only loaning it. At any rate, as matter of legal 
evidence, such an entry l)y Prince would not be received 
to show title. His entry might be evidence against him- 
self, l)ut he could not destro}^ the property of the oAvner 
of the l)ook b)^ writing in it anything in disparagement of 
the title. 

It would seem, then, that the trustees of the Old South 
Church merely had it for safe-keeping. If that were the 



46 American Antiquarian Society, 

trust on which they had it, it would further seem that they 
were not very faithful trustees. If they let Hutchinson 
take it in 17(57 and keep it seven years, or if they let it 
stay, during the stormy times of the Revolution, in the 
tower of the Old South Church to be looted by British 
soldiers, they were not very faithful to their trust. If, 
when its existence at Fulham was discovered in 185(i, they 
heard of it, as undoubtedly they must have heard of it, 
they neglected to assert their legal title, or to take any 
legal proceedings to get it l)ack for forty-one years. Our 
late associate, Mr. Hamilton A. Hill, in his History of the 
Old South Church, Vol. 2, p. 44, states that the Prince 
Library suffered from neglect and from want of apprecia- 
tion of its custodians of its intrinsic value. 

In the Introduction to the Catalogue of the Prince 
Library, pul)lished by the trustees in 1870, is this state- 
ment : 

" The books and papers were deposited on shelves 
and in boxes and barrels in a room in the steeple of 
the church, under the belfry, which according to tradi- 
tion, had been Prince's study. There this valuable 
dei)osit was left for niau}^ years without care, and sub- 
ject to many vicissitudes. During the siege of Boston 
in 1775-(), the Church, being used as a riding-school 
b}^ the British troops, was often frecjuented b}^ idle 
spectators, Avho nmst have had access to the collection, 
and may be responsible for some of the loss it has 
sustained." 

The Introduction to the Catalogue further expresses the 
hope that " these waifs " may l)e returned to be forever 
kept where, if they do not absolutel}' belong, they can be 
most pro})erly retained. This would seem to imply a good 
deal of doubt whether the manuscript belonged to the 
Prince Library, or to imply the suggestion that it ought to 
be returned to some other custody than theirs. It is a 
little curious tiiat in the Introduction, the words "now 
lodged" arc used as dcscril)ing the possession of the Bishop 



Return of the Manuscrij)t. 47 

of London ; which is precise!)^ the expression of Prince in 
(lescril)inir the possession of the Prince Lil)niry. 

It is also a singular coincidence that Winthro])'s Journal, 
which ])ears somewhat the same relation to Massachusetts 
that Bradford's History does to Pl}"m()uth, got into the 
Prince Library under circumstances Avhich led Mr. Win- 
throp to l)elieve that the volumes were borrowed from the 
family and never were I'eally a part of the Library. 

Another singulai' fact is stated in the Introduction, that 
so mau}^ of the books which have the book-plate of the 
New England Library, are found scattered about the 
country, and the author of the Introduction says, " It has 
been suggested that Prince possibly made another collection 
which he sold." 

It is also a very striking circumstance that there is in 
the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society a 
catalogue of the books and tracts collected ])y Thomas 
Prince, in Prince's own handwriting, made certainly as 
late as 1750, in Avhich the Bradford manuscript is not in- 
cluded. 

The decree of the Consistory Court commits the manu- 
script to the Governor of Massachusetts on the cf)ndition, 
among others, that it shall be deposited for permanent safe- 
keeping in the archives of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, or with the Massachusetts Historical Society. This 
condition the Governor has undertaken to fulfil. If, for 
any reason, it could not be accomplished, the Conunon- 
wealtli would have been bound in honor to restore the 
document to the Bishop. 

The Bishop, it is understood, came to the conclusion 
that he would not be justified in restoring the manuscript, 
of himself, without some legislative authorit}'' or judicial 
proceeding. He was, at first, inclined to seek permission 
from Parliament and Avas inclined to introduce a l)ill into 
Parliament for that })urpose himself. On further considera- 
sion, it was thought better to obtain a decree of the Con- 



48 American Antiquarian Society. 

sistoiy Court of London. According!}^, the proceeding's, 
copies of which are given, were had. 

The ol)servations of the judge of the Consistory Court 
as to the application of Mr. Henr>' White, Secretary to 
the American Enihassy, require a few words of explanation 
in order that there may lie no misunderstanding as to Mr. 
White's position, which does not seem to have been fully 
comprehended by the Coiu't. 

The London Times of March 2(>, 181)7, the day after 
announcement of the judgment, contained, among its regu- 
lar court reports, what i)ur})orted to 1)C the report of the 
proceedings of the Consistor}' Court of London, headed : 

THE CONSISTORY COURT OF LONDON 
BEFORE DR. TRISTRAM, Q. C. 

CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE OF LONDON. 

It is headed : 

" A sitting of the Consistor}^ Court of London was 
held todav in 8t. Paul's Cathedral before Dr. Tristram, 
' Q. C, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, who was 
attended b}' Mr. Hugh Lee, Registrar. 

"THE LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER. 

"This was a i)etition l)y the Hon. Thomas F. Bay- 
ard, American Ambassador, petitioning for and on 
behalf of the President and citizens of the United 
States of America for an order of the Consistory 
Court of London directing that a certain manuscri})t 
book, viz : the Log of the Mayflower, wliich has been 
for many 3'ears i)ast and is now dei)osited in the 
Library attached to Fulham Palace, might be trans- 
mitted to the President and citizens of the United 
States of America as one of the earliest records of 
their national history." 

After giving the arguments on both sides and the testi- 
mouA^ of Mr. Ilarr^' W. Lee, there follows what purports 
to be a verbatim report of the judgment or decree, which 
closes by saying : 



Return of the Mamiscript. 49 

" The Court makes a deeree for the traiisniission of 
this manuscript back to the President and Senate of 
tlie United States of America, sul)ject to certain terms 
and conditions which I will settle in Chaml)er8." 

The newspapers, at or about the same date, re})()rted that 
Mr. Bayard had <rone on a journe}^ to Italy. There was 
no statement as to the length of his journe3\ It seemed 
not unlikely that he miiiht be intendin<>: to take a jom-ney 
which would occupy the entire sununer. Under these 
circumstances the decree of the court excited some con- 
sternation. It had been hoped that the document mioht 
1)6 received in Massachusetts in time for the meeting- of the 
American Antiijuarian Societj^ which was to take phice 
April 21st, but at an}' rate in time to be presented to the 
Governor of Massachusetts before the adjournment of the 
Legislature, so that any arrangements for its rece})tion and 
safe-keeping which should require legislation might be 
made. The order in the decree that the document should 
be transmitted to the President and Senate was practically 
incapable of execution. There was no way known to our 
constitutional proceeding hy which the President and Sen- 
ate could jointl}^ take custody of such a document. The 
original petition addressed to the Bishop by the societies, 
as will 1)6 seen, prayed " that your Lordshij) direct that it 
be given to the American Am))assador to be b}' him restored 
to Massachusetts." The custody of the document at the 
seat of government in Washington would l)e hardly more 
convenient or satisfactory than its remaining at Fulham. 
It became necessary, therefore, if this decree were to 
stand, to get an order from the President and Senate, if 
possible, before the adjournment of Congress, directing the 
transmission of the manuscri})t to Massachusetts according 
to the original prayer. 

Mr. Hay had Ijeen appointed Ambassador, and Mr. 
Bayard's letter of recall had been presented. Mr. Hay's 
credentials could not be presented until the return of Her 



50 A^nerican Antiquarian Society. 

Majesty from the Continent and, aecordini>- to custom, it 
was not expected that he would a})})ear in public in England 
until he had been received. So he still remained in Wash- 
ijigton. The eml)ass3% in the meantime, was to be in 
charge of Mr. White, the Secretary. He had gone to New 
York to take the steamer for England when the news of the 
decree and of Mr. Bayard's departure for the Continent 
came. Accordingly, the writer addressed at once a letter 
to Mr. White asking him, as soon as he reached London, 
to apply for the delivery of the maiuiscript to him in order 
that it might be received here before the adjournment of 
the Legislature and, if possil)le, in time for the meeting of 
the Antiquarian Society on the 21st of April. He very 
kindly made the request, not, as the Chancellor erroneously^ 
recites, in behalf of Mr. Hay, who had not then entered 
upon his office, but in his own ])ehalf, as Charge ad interim. 
There was no desire on the part of anyliody to deprive 
Mr. Bayard of the opportunity of l)ringing the document 
l)ack according to the desire expressed in the original peti- 
tion to the Bishop. But the difficulty grew out, first, of 
the uncertainty on this side as to the time of Mr. Bayard's 
return from the Continent, and second, from the mistake 
of the judge himself in making the order, practically 
impossible of execution and never contemplated by the 
promoters of the application, that the document should be 
given to the President and Senate, — an order made without 
familiarity with our constitutional arrangements here. 

Here follow copies of the further correspondence as to 
the matter and of the records of the Consistorj' Court. 

January 7, 18!) 7. 
Dear Mr. Olney : 

There is a strong desire felt to have the original manu- 
script of (lovernor Bradford's History of Plymouth restored 
to Massachusetts. An application to that effect has been 



Return of the Maimscrijit. 51 

signed by myself, Mr. Salisl)urv, and Dr. Samuel A. Green, 
for the Anti(juarian Society ; C^harles Francis Adams, Bishop 
Lawrence, and President Eliot, for the Historical Society ; 
Arthur Lord, William M. Evarts, and William T. Davis, 
for the Pilgrim Society ; and Charles C. Beaman, Joseph 
H. Choate, and fl. Pierpont Morgan, for the New England 
Society of New York. 

I spoke to Mr. Baj^ard about the matter when I was in 
London. He took great interest in it, and kindly under- 
took to do whatever he properly might to promote the 
ai)})lication. 

I enclose a co})y of the letter to the Bishop of London 
which tells the whole story. I think you will find it inter- 
estino-. 

If the rules and practice of }'our Department permit, 
will you kindly say a word to Mr. Bayard, ex[)ressing 
3'our interest in the matter and 3'our hope that it ma}' l)e 
accomplished. I suppose I can hardly ask you to do this 
in any formal or official way. But if Mr. Bayard have the 
right to say that the success of the a}i})lication will gratify 
you, or the President, I presume it would helj) the matter. 

If there be no objection, I should like to send the docu- 
ments in the Government despatch bag. 

I am, with high regard, faithfully yours, 

GEO. F. HOAR. 
The Honorable 

Richard Olney, 

Secretary of State, etc., etc., etc. 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

Washington, January 8, 1897. 

Hon. George F. Hoar, United States Senate. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknoAvledge the receipt of 
your very interesting letter of yesterday with accompany- 
ing papers, relative to the application of the American 
Anti(juarian Societj^ the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, the New England Society 
of New York and the Governor of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts to the Right Reverend the Bishop of London, 



52 American Antiquarkni Society. 

calling the attention of His Lordship to the original manu- 
script of Governor Bradford's History of Plynionth noAv in 
the lil)rarv at Fulhani, and asking that that document ma}^ 
be delivered to the United States Ambassador at London 
to be by him restored to the State of Massachusetts. 

In reply I beg to inform you that it has afforded me 
much pleasure to cause, in accordance with your request, 
the above mentioned papers to be sent in the despatch l)ag 
to the United States P^mbassy at London, with instructions 
to Mr. Bayard to informally l)ring the matter in (juestion 
to the attention of the Bishop of London with a view to 
obtaining the restoration of the Bradford manuscript to 
the State of ^Massachusetts. 

Adding that the Ambassador's reply will be prom})tly 
communicated to you, 

I have the honor to be, Sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

RICHARD OLNEY. 



DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

Washixgtox, January 12, 1897. 
Hon. George F. Hoar, United States Senate. 

Sir : Referring to ])revious correspondence relative to 
instructions to the United States Ambassador at London in 
regard to making ajjplication for the State of Massachusetts 
to the Bishop of London for the original manuscrii)t of 
Governor Bradfoi'd's History of Plymouth, now in the 
library at Fulham, I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt of 3^our letter of the 9th instant, transmitting a 
parcel containing i)apers relating to the subject which you 
desire to have sent to the United States Ambassador at 
Lon(h)n. 

In reply I have to inform you that the })arcel in (|uestion 
will at once l)e sent to its destination with suitable instruc- 
tions. 

I have the honor to be. Sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

RICHARD OLNEY. 



Hetuni of the Manuf<criiH. 53 

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

London, Januari/ 18, 1897. 
My Dear Lord Bishop : 

You have doubtless received a couniuuiication from 
Worcester in Massachusetts, written on l)ehalf of the 
American xVnti(juarian Societv, tlie Massachusetts Histori- 
cal Society, the Pil<:rim Societv of Plymouth and the New 
England Society of New^ Yorlv, and with the approval of 
the Governor of that CommouAvealth, in relation to the 
restoration to INIassachusetts of the MS. history of that 
Commonwealth, written there, in the 17th century, by 
William Bradford, the Second (lovernor of Plymouth 
Colony, as appears l)y the inscrii)ti()n on the fly-leaf of the 
document, which is now in the library at Fulham Palace, 
where it was deposited after the breaking out of the Avar 
of the American Revolution. 

The letter so addressed to 3'ou, full}' and forciljh' sets 
forth the strong and very natural desire felt in the United 
States to have a document, so clearly and solely connected 
with the early history of the original settlement of that 
country, restored to the descendants of those settlers in 
the locality' in which the events occurred. 

The Secretar}^ of State of the United States has i"e- 
(juested me informally to bring the sul)ject to your atten- 
tion. And I am sure that I represent the strong desire 
of my countrymen, in asking that I may be allowed, in a 
personal interview (whenever and wdierever it will be most 
convenient to 3'ou) to state the great interest felt in Massa- 
chusetts in the matter, and to ex})ress my l)elief that the 
gratitication of the earnest wishes of my countrymen would 
l)e a sensible addition to the sentiments of amity, sym- 
patln^ and res})ect l)etAveen the two great ])ranches of 
the P]nglish-speaking race, Avhich it is ni}' high honour to 
advocate. 

It is my impression that the Hon. George F. Hoar, a 
Senator in Congress from Massachusetts, held communica- 
tion Avith your predecessor (now the ^\rchbisho}) of Canter- 
l)ury) on this interesting subject and, as I renienil)er, Avas 
encouraged to hope that means Avould be found to accom- 



54 American Antiquarian Societ;/. 

})li.sh the restoration of the MS., Avritten in America, and 
of America, to the custody and possession of Americans. 
Believe me, &c., 

(sd) T. F. BAYARD. 
The Right Hon. and Right Rev. 
Mandell Ckeigiitox, D.D., 

Bisho}) of London. 

(Coiiv.) 

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

London, January 23, 1897. 
My Deak Lord Bishop: 

It Avill give me great })leasure to have a little conversa- 
tion with vou resi)ecting the William Bradford MS., 
which is now in the Fulham Library, and is so ardently 
desired by the CV)nnn()nwealth of Massachusetts, as part of 
their early history by the hand of their second (lovernor. 
Li accordance with your kind suggestion I will be most 
happy to see you at b p. m. on Wednesday next (the 
27th) at my residence, 8o Eaton Square. 

I enclose herewith an imi)rint of the letter to your Lord- 
ship from the Coumiittee representing the Petitioners for 
the restoration of the MS., which 3^ou tell me 3'ou have 
not yet received, and will acquaint you with their Avishes 
regarding the MS. in question. 

And I am, &c., 

(sd) T. F. BAYARD. 
The Right Hon. and Right Rev. 

Bishop of London, 

Deanery, St. Paul's. 

(Unofficial.) 
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

123 Victoria St., S. W. 
London, Januanj 28, 1897. 
Dear Mr. Hoar : 

Your missives throngh the State Department in relation 
to obtaining the ^IS. of (lovernor William Bradford came 
safel}^ and had my iimnediate and friendly attention. 



Return of the Manuscript. 55 

Yesterda}" afternoon the Bishop of London, Dr. Mandell 
Creighton, came i)ur8iiant to our arrangement, to my resi- 
dence, and in his hands I placed tlie letters, imprinted 
and written, to the Archl^ishoj) of Canterbury, and those 
addressed to himself. He is most favorably disposed, and 
I am satisfied is anxious to promote the restoration of the 
MS. to Massachusetts. The result of oiu- intervicAv was 
his promise to comnuuiicatc with the ]\Iar(iuis of Salis])ury, 
after which he Avill Avrite me on the su))ject. He suggested 
that action b}' Parliament might be necessary, and that a 
bill to effectuate the transfer could be introduced by him- 
self in the House of Lords. 

I dwelt upon the very good effect internationally of the 
return of the ]MS. of Bradford in Avhich view he })rom})tly 
concurred, and spoke with great kindness of Harvard and 
its officers. He Avas, as you maA' remember, the re})re- 
sentative of John Harvard's college (St. .John Avas it not?) 
at the 2o()th connncmoration at Cambridge in Massachu- 
setts in 18^* 7. I enclose co})ies of the notes I addressed to 
the Bishop of London, in order to let you see the progress 
of the case in Avhich yon feel so great an interest, and so 
soon as I hear again from Bishop Creighton, I Avill again 
Avrite to you. 

Believe me 

Very truly, 

T. F. BAYAKD. 
Hon. G. F. Hoar, U. S. S. 

(Personal.) 

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

London, March 17, 1897. 
Dear Mr. Hoar : 

I have just seen the Bishoj) of London, and believe I 
can s})eak nu)st hopefully of the early delivery to me, as 
intermediary for the CommouAvealth of Massachusetts, of 
the MS. history of the Colony of Mas.sachusetts Bay by 
Governor William Bradford. 

I am sure you Avill not care for the al)sence of technicali- 
ties in the arrangements that have for their termination the 



56 A.}ite)'ic(f)i Antiqnarkni Socletij. 

delivery of the MS. into the haiitls of Ma.s.saehu.setts. 
When we meet I can explain to you what has transpired 
here and the reason why the authorities here i)refer in 
their own way to gratify the wishes which Avere the l)asis 
of our corres])ondence. 

In a few days I expect a communication from the Bishop 
of London, and will lose no time in lettins; you know the 
conclusion arrived at, which as I have said, I fully expect 
to be favoral)le to 3^our wishes. 

Believe me 

Sincerely 3- ours, 

T. F. BAYAKD. 

lion. George F. Hoar, U. 8. Senate. 

19 Dover Street, May 3, 1897. 
Dear Mr. Hoar : 

On last Thursday, the Chancellor of the Episcopal and 
Consistorial (\)urt of London delivered his final decision, 
sustaining his })rior decree, in March, for the manual 
delivery, on my petition, of the log of the "Mayflower," 
and com})lying with the terms of his order. I })aid the 
costs, gave my recei})t for the jVIS. book, and the precious 
volume was placed ^)ersonall^' in my hands by the Bishop 
of London. 

I maik^d you a copy of the "Times" Avith a full rei)ort 
of the proceedings, and wrote to Governor AYolcott notify- 
ing him of the facts, and that I expected to enil)ark from 
Southampton on the 8th inst. for New York with the book 
in my possession, and would in obedience to the decree, 
and to my written obligation deliver the document and 
original decree to him in Boston as soon as practicable 
after my arrival, and I also enclosed a cojiy of the 
"Times" rej)()rt. 

Being without clerical aid I could not send him in 
advance a full coj^y of the decree, but I stated sufh'ciently 
its provisions. 

Nor had I time l)efore closing of the mail to write to 
3'ou, and coidd only send you the "Times" re})ort. 

No doul)t the telegraph informed you of the all-im[)ortant 



Return oftJie ManiiMyvipt, r>7 

fact, that the k)g of the "Mayflower" was now on its way 
])aek to Massachusetts . 

I have your letter of April 21st, ami had arraniicd l)efore 
my departure from London on my leave of al>scncc for the 
execution of all the formalities re(iuisite for the hnal action 
by the Bisho[) of London. 

napj)ily an avoidance of some teclmical obstacles was 
acconn)lished, and it is with sincere satisfaction that I am 
now enabled to communicate the success of the efforts 
initiated by you last year in London to obtain })ossession 
of this jH-eirnant historic-al record and its restoration to the 
hands of its })ropcr custodians. 

I should be delin(|uent in manifest (bity did I not attest 
the spirit of amity, kinshij) and international courtesy 
exhibited by every official (civil and ecclesiastical) of this 
Government, bavins; connection with this transaction, and 
the evident pul)lic satisfaction the incich-nt has caused 
throuii'hout this country ; and of this our countrymen 
should 1)6 made aware. 

To no one is felicitation more due than to you person- 
aWy, upon the result, and I sincerely tender it, and am 

Very faithfully yours, 

T. F. BAYARD. 

The Hon. Geougk F. Hoar, U. S. Senate. 

4 AiRLiE Garden, Campdex Hill, 
London, W. January Isf, 1897. 

My dear Sir, When and why Gov, Bradford's manu- 
scrii)t History came to be deposited in the Library of the 
Bisho}) of liondon, })erhaps you have not yet decided, and 
may entertain kindly a sugaestion which occurs to me. 

I was much impressed l)y your doubts as to the usual 
conjecture that it was l)rought to London, when the British 
army evacuated Boston in 1776. If that had been so, the 
MS. would i)robabh^ have been transferred to the (\)lonial 
Office, and would now be, among pa])ers regarding old 
colonial affairs, in the Public Kecord Office. 

But it is in the custody of the church, and not treated as 
a state paper, and may have been left there for some eccle- 
siastical purpose. 
5 



58 American Antiffiarian Society. 

It could hardly have l)een among Gov. Ilutchinsoirs 
papers, destro^'ed by the mob in 17(35, as the editor of his 
last volume, his nephew, referring, in a note to the preface, 
to the "many ancient records and papers" thus destroyed, 
says expressly "one, and })erhaps the most curious of these 
documents, escaped, and is now in the editor's })ossession. 
It is the original Com't Book of the Colony of Massachu- 
setts Bay, kept at first in England, and containing records 
of as early a date as February, 1(528." And the MS. is not 
mentioned, I believe, 1)y Hutchinson. 

I have lately l)een reading the book (Bisho}) AVilber- 
force's History of the E})isco})al Church in America) which, 
by (|uotations from the Bradford ]Manuscri])t, gave a clue 
to its discovery and })ublication by the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society. Bishop Wilberforce did not quote this 
manuscri})t alone, but also other "Fulliam Mss." in his 
History, and all chiefly for the purpose of showing the 
long-continued endeavours and need of the Episc()})alian 
Churches in America to have one or more Bisho})s in their 
own country, for the ordination of their ministers and 
other Avants of their Church Government, instead of being 
dejjcndent, as thc}^ were, on the distant Bishop of Lon- 
don : — and he says this effort was made very strongly in 
the years just })receding the Revolution ! 

It was at this time, according to Doyle, that the ]MS. 
was last heard of in Massachusetts, in 17()7. 

Is it not likely that it was sent over to the Bishop of 
London as evidence of the long and difficult existence of 
the Episcopal Church in America, even from the early days 
of Plymouth Colony, and of its need of the more inde- 
})ondentand strong government, which its scattered branches 
in the Colonies were then trj'ing to obtain? 

Among the old letters in the Fulham Library on this 
subject, it is possible that Bishop Wilberforce found the 
Bradford Manuscri})t ; he refers to it, as well as to the 
letters, as "Fulham MSS.," — and })ossibly in some one of 
these letters may be found an ex})lanation of the occasion 
and the date of the deposit of the Bradford MS. 

Tlie efforts of the Ei)isc()})al Church in America to have 
Bishops of their own were of course ended l»y the Kevolu- 
tion : and the old mamiscripts on the subject of this lai)sed 
and terminated cause, seem hardl}' worth preserving at 



Return of the Manuscript. 59 

Fulham, especially a.s to such an unused i)iece of docu- 
mentary evidence as the Bradford Maiuiscri})t, Avliile its 
possession as an historical document must be admitted to 
be of a'reat value to ^Massat'husetts : and })erhaps the })res- 
ent E})iscoi)al Bisho)) of Massachusetts may assist in its 
restoration. 

As the present Archl)isho}) of Canterbury, lately Bishop 
of London, received so favourably your conversation with 
him on the sul)ject, and the newly ap})()inted Bishop of 
London, Dr. Creio-hton, has a Harvard deu-ree, and is so 
pre-eminently an historical student and author, I hope your 
application for the MS. will soon be successful, and that it 
Avill l)e returned to the old Commonwealth where it rightly 
belongs. 

I am, ver}^ sincerely yours, 

JOSIAH PIERCE. 
Hon. George F. Hoar, 

In the Consistoru Court of London. 
PETITION OF THE HON. T. F. BAYARD. 

To The Worshipful Thomas Hutchinson Tristram Doctor 
of LaAvs, Vicar General of The Right Honorable and Right 
Reverend ^Nlandell by Divine Permission Lord Bisho}) of 
London and Official Principal of the Consistorial and 
E})iscoi)al Court of London lawfully constituted, his Surro- 
gate or some other competent Judge in this behalf. 

The humble Petition of The Honorable Thomas F. Bay- 
ard (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in 
London of the United States of America) for and on 
behalf of the President and Citizens of the said States 

Stieweth, That there is in the Custody of the said Lord 
Bisho}) of the Diocese of London a nianuscri})t book con- 
taining an account as narrated by one of the company of 
Englishmen who left England in A})ril in the year 1(>20 in 
the Shi}) known as the "Mayflower" of the circumstances 
leading to the })rior settlement of that Com})any at Leyden 
in Holland their return to England and sul)se(iuent de})art- 
ure for Xew England their landing at Ca})c Cod December 
1020 settlement at Ncav Plymouth and later history for 
several years, they being the Com})any whose settlement 



60 A7nerican Antiquarian Society. 

in Auierifa i.s rogarded as the first real eolonisation of the 
New England States. 

That on the second page of the Book is a statement in 
the handwriting of Samuel Bradford, a Grandson of 
William Bradford who was one of the voyagers in the 
" jNIavHower" and the seeond Governor of the newly settled 
C\)nnnunity of 1()20 to the effect that such manuscript 
book was written by his Grandfather and a further state- 
ment on })ages 3 and 4 by one Thomas Prince that the 
book had l)ccn loaned to him l)y Major John Bradford in 
1728 but that the right and in'o})erty therein attached to 
the said John Bi'adford. A })rinted ticket therein is to 
the effect that the book belonged to a certain New England 
Library begun to be collected l)y the said Thomas Prince 
but there is no evidence of how the Book was })laced at 
his disposal for this purpose nor is there any evidence to 
shew how as stated on such printed Ticket " it came to be 
de})osited in the Bishoj) of London's Library at Fulham." 

That the said jManuscri})t Book has been for many years 
past and is iu)W de})osited in the Library attached to 
Fulham Palace. 

That the said ^Manuscript Book is of the greatest interest 
im})oi-tance and value to the Citizens of the United States 
of .Vmcrica, inasnuich as it is one of the earliest records of 
their National History and contains much valuable informa- 
tion in regard to the Original Settlers in the States, their 
family history and antecedents and therefore your Petitioner 
earnestly desires to accjuire })ossession of the same for and 
on behalf of the President and Citizens of the said United 
States of Anu'rica. 

That your Petitioner is informed that the said Right 
Honorable and liight Reverend Mandell Lord Bisho}) of 
London fully recognises the value and interest of the said 
manuscri})t book to the C-itizens of the United States and 
the claims Avliich tht^y have to its possession and that he is 
desirous of transferring it to the said President and (-itizens. 

That your Petitioner is advised and l)elieves that the 
(Histody of documents in the nature of })ul)lic or ecclesiasti- 
cal record belonging to the See of Loiulon is vested in the 
(\)nsistorial Court of the said See and that any disi)osal 
thereof nuist be authorized by an Order issued b}' the 
Judiie of this Honorable Court. 



Return of the Manuscript. 61 

Your Petitioner therefore liunibly prays that this 
IIonora])le Court will deliver to your Petitioner the 
said Manus('ri[)t Book before referred to your Peti- 
tioner undertaking to use eveiy means in his power 
for the safe transmission of the said l)ook to the 
United States of America and its secure deposit and 
custody in the Pilgrim Hall at New Plymouth or in 
such other place as may be selected b}^ the President 
and Senate of the said United States and upon such 
other conditions as to security and access by and on 
))ehalf of the English Nation as this Honorable Court 
niaj' determine. 

HARRY W. LEE, 
Atfy for the Petitioner. 
I concur in this Petition, 
M. London. 
22 March 1897. 

In tlie Consistory Court of London. 
In the Matter of an application for an Order for 
delivery of the manuscript " mayflower " log 
to THE American Ambassador. 



AFFH)AVIT OF HARRY W. LEE, ESQ. 

In the Consistory Court of London. 
In THE Matter of an application for an Order for 

THE DELIVERY OF THE MANUSCRIPT " MaYFLOWER " 

Log to the American Ambassador. 

I Harry Wilmot Lee of No. 1 The Sanctuary in the 
City of Westminster make oath and saj^ as follows : 

1 I am legal Secretary to the Right Reverend Mandell 
by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of London. 

2 The Petition dated twenty second March 1<S1)7 made 
by me acting for and on behalf of The Honorable 
Thomas F. Bayard for delivery to him of the manu- 
script l)ook before referred to which Petition is now 
produced to me and is marked with the letter "A" is 
to the best of my knowledge and belief true in every 
particular. 



62 American Antiquarian Society. 

3 It is within my knowledge that the said Lord 
Bishop consents to the handing over of the manuscript 
l)()ok referred to in the said Petition njion such condi- 
tions as shall be deemed })r()})ei' by the Judge of the 
Consistory Court of the Diocese of London. 

Sworn at 1 The Sanctuary in the \ 

City of Westminster this 22'"^ day J 

of March 1897, Before me, ^ I 

Henky L. Boltox, \ HARRY W. LEE. 

A Conmiissioner to administer Oaths I 

in the Su])reme Coiu't of Judicature I 

m England. / 

In the Conxixtori/ Court of London. 

L\ RE THE MATTER OF "THE LOG OF THE 

MAYFLOWER." 



Notes of Evidence Given at the Application. 
In the OonsiMory Court of London. 
Re The matter of " The Log of the Mayflower." 
NOTES OF EVIDENCE. 
The Ap})lication of Harrv Wilmot Lee. 
I am Legal Secretary to the present Bishop of London. 
I was joint Legal Secretary to his Loi'dship's Predecessors, 
Bisho}) Tait, Bishop ,Iackson & for a time to Bishop 
Temple, c^ afterwards I was his Sole Legal Secretary- I 
am Solicitor in this Case for M"". Bayard the present Ameri- 
can Ambassador at the CVnirt of S^ James. He instructed 
me to file a Petition on behalf of the President and Citi- 
zens of the United States })ra}'ing that the Log of the 
Mayflower should be delivered over to him for the purpose 
of his conveying it in safety to the United States & of 
its being placed in public custody in the City of Boston in 
the United States M"". Bayard will give an undertaking, 
that he will take every care of it during its transmission to 
The States & on its arrival there will himself convey it to 
the Governoi- of Massachusetts & de})osit it in his custody. 
The Lord Bishop of London conciu-s in the pra3'er of the 
Petition, and has attached his signature to a Memorandum 
at the end of it signifying his concurrence in it. I have 
inspected this original Manuscript. 1 produce a Fac Simile 



Return of the Mannsci'ipt. 03 

Photoii'i'iipli t^opy of it ]nil)li.slied 1)}^ Mess""" AA^ard & 
Downey in London. 

The Photoi>rapliie Copy was pre})ared under the eare of 
M'". Boyle, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and 
Printed by Spottiswood. 

Two Du})lieate Copies of this Manuscript will lie fur- 
nished l)y Mr. Bayard, one for the i)urpose of its lieino- 
})laeed in the Fulhani Palace Library and the other in the 
Bishop of London's Registr}^ in Doctors Commons. 
The American Antiquarian Society, 
The Historical Society of Massachusetts, 
The Pilgrim's Society at Plymouth, 
The New England Societ}^ of New York, 
acting with the Co-operation of the Governor of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts are all desirous that this 
Manuscript should be transferred to Boston & there placed 
in Public Custody. 

I have been Legal Secretary to the Bishops of London 
for from 20 to 25 years. There is a Muniment Room 
over the Gatewa}^ of Fulliam Palace with which I am 
ac(|uainted c*c in which I have made searches for Docu- 
ments of im})ortance. I have reason to believe it contains 
correspondence relating to the American Church prior to 
the Declaration of Independence. It is the Palace Muni- 
ment Poom, I got the papers from there which enabled 
Col. ^laitland to establish his claim to the Earldom of 
Laudersdale before the House of Lords. There is a Peg- 
ister of the Papers there but not a complete one. 

In the House of Lords in this Case these documents 
were held to have come from a Pul)lic Registry & were 
on this ground admitted in evidence. The present Bisho}) 
of London directed this Book to be placed in the Kegistry 
here temporarily. He considers the Fulham Muniment 
Room an adjunct to the Bishop of London's Registr}- in 
Doctors Connuons. 

Cur Adv Vult. 

In the Consistory Court of London. 

IN THE MATTER OF THE LOG OF THE 

MAYFLOWER. 

Judgment delivered at St. Paul's Cathedral 

ON March '2b, 1897. 



64 American Antiqiiarian Society. 

In the ConsiMory Court of London. 

IN THE MATTER OE THE LOG OF THE 
MAYFLOWER. 

The Hon'^^'' Thomas F. Bayard the Ambassador Extraor- 
dinaiy of the United States of America to the Court of S*. 
James has petitioned this Court on behalf of the Presi- 
dent and Citizens of the United States of America to 
decree that an Ori<>inal Manuscri})t Book known as "The 
Log of The Mayflower" in the Custody of the Court be 
delivered to his Excellency for safe transmission to the 
President and Senate of the United States upon such con- 
ditions and security as the Court may determine. 

This Manuscript Book (amongst other matters of great 
historical interest) contains what in law is an authentic 
Register betAveen 1()20 c^ 1(>50 of the Names of the persons, 
who founded in 1620 the Colony of New England in North 
America, of the fact of their ]\larriages, with the names of 
their respective wiyes, & of their children, the lawful issue 
of such Marriages, t^c of the Marriages of many of their 
grand-children, & of the issue of such Marriages, as Avell 
as the deaths of persons therein named. It is in its charac- 
ter of ])eing an authentic Register of ^Marriages, Births, & 
Deaths of })ersons resident in a Territorj^ which formed 
])art of the Colonial Possessions of Great Britain, at the 
dates of which the}' relate, & which was liy custom then 
within the Diocese of London, that the Custody of this 
Manuscri})t l)elongs to the CV)urt. 

The authenticit}' of the Manuscript as being, (with the 
exception of the four last entries on the last page) in 
the handwriting of ]Major AVilliam Bradford, one of the 
Founders, c'c the second Governor of the (-olony is placed 
beyond doubt, from the inherent eyidence furnished by its 
contents, & by the fact of the whole of the contents, with 
the aboye excei)ti()ns, being in his handwriting, as well as 
by an entry prefixed to it in the handwriting of his grand- 
son Sanmel Bradford. The following hcadnote in Major 
Bradford's handwriting is i)refixed to the Register, which 
is contained in the last f) pages of the Book. 

"The Names of those which came over first in 1620, and 
"were (by the Blessing of (xod) the first beginners and 



Return of the Manuscript. 05 

" (in a sort,) the foundation of all the Plantations & Colo- 
"nies in New Enoland t'i their families/' 

Then follow twenty seven separate entries, each contain- 
inii; the name of the head of each Emigrant Family, and 
the names of his wife, children & Servants who accompa- 
nied him on the voyaa'c of The Mayflower or who su))se- 
quently joined him at Plymouth. 

At the End of these entries comes this entry. 

"These being about 100 souls come over in this first 

" Ship, & liegan this work which God of His Goodness 

"hath hitherto blessed ; let his Holy Name have the praise, 

"and seeing it hath i)leased him to give me to see 80 years 

"completed since these beginnings, & that the Great works 

" of This Providence are to be observed, I have thought it 

"not unworthy ni}' paines to take a view of the decreasings 

"t^ increasings of these persons, &. such changes as has 

"passed over them and theirs in this 30 3'ears — It \\vA.y be 

" some use to such as come after. I will therefore take 

"them in order as they lye" — Then follow entries of the 

Marriages, Births &. Deaths of the surviving families of the 

Settlers, accompanied with notices relating to some of them. 

The Writer then proceeds: — "Of these 100 persons 

' which came first over, in this first ship — the greater part 

'dyed in the general mortality ; & most of them in 2 or 3 

'months time, t'c for those who survived, though some 

' were ancient & })ast procreation &. others left the place & 

'country, yet of those few remains are sprung up 100 

'persons in this 30 years, & are now living in this present 

'3^ear IGoO, besides many of their children which are dead, 

'c'c come not within this account. And of the oldest 

' (stock of one or other) there are yet living this present 

'year 1650 near 30 i)ersons — Let the Lord have the praise, 

'who is the High Preserver of them." 

The entry prefixed to the Book by Major Bradford's 
Grandson is as follows: — "This Book was writ by my 
" Grandfather William Bradford, & given to his Son Alajor 
"William Bradford, & l)v him to his Son Major John 
"Bradford." 

"Writ bv me Sanuud Bradford" 
"iVIarch 20, 1705" 
Then folloAvs the Signature 

John Bradford. 



06 America)} Antiquarian Society. 

There is an Entry on the next i)age but one — 
March 20 Samuel Bradford 

"But Major Bradford tells me & assures me that he only 
"lent this Book of his (Irandfather to M'". Sewell, & it 
"being of his Grandfathers own writing he had so high a 
"value for it, that he would never j)art with the ])ro})ertv, 
"l)ut would lend it to me, & desired me to get it which I 
"did, t^ write down this that so Major Bradford c'c his heirs 
"ma}' be known to l)e the right owners — Written when the 
"Book came into my hands." 

Then comes the following Entr^' on the jirevious page — 
"This Book l)elongs to the New England Lil)rarv.'" 

"Begun to l)e collected by Thos : Pi'ince u})on his enter- 
ing Harvard College Juh' (i. 170o & was given b>' 

It now belongs to the Bishop of London's Lil)rarv at 
"Fulham." 

The Histor}' of Major Bradford as bearing on the authen- 
ticity & legal authority of this Register is, that he arrived 
at Plymouth in New England in the Mayflower in Deceni- 
])er 1620, that in April 1621 — Carver the Governor of 
Plymouth died iSc Bradford was elected to fill the vacancy 
in the (rovernorship occasioned by Carver's death, that he 
resigned the Governorship in l()3o — was re-elected in 1635 
— and retained it until 1650 — when he resigned it, & died 
on May 9 1657, aged (M & that during all this ])eri<)d up 
to 1650 his high Official position as (Tovernor was recog- 
nised from the entries in the Manuscri})t by the vSovereigns 
of this Country. 

These entries in the Register having been officially 
recorded I)}' the highest Officer of State in the Colony are 
entitled to be admitted as evidence in Courts of Justice, 
in Pedigree Cases, of the facts therein recor<lcd. 

No record or evidence has been found as to how or at 
what date this Manuscript Book came into the Custody of 
the Bishops of London, 

From the Entries in the Book it is clear that M''. Prince 
was anxious for securing permanent possession of it for 
the Lilirary he had estal)Iished in Massachusetts & that the 
Bra<lf()rd Family had determined to retain it in their })os- 
session. It nnist have been de})()sited at Fulham Palace 
after 1727 & ))efore the Declaration of the Independence 
of the States of America. The most probable grounds of 



Return of the Manuscript. (w 

its l)eing placed there would l)e that \\\^ to the time of the 
Declaration of Indei)endence New En_<>land Avas for Ecclesi- 
astical puqiose.s in the Diocese of London, &. that it has 
been the })ractice to transmit from the Colonies c'c from 
Foreign parts Certificates of the Marriages, Births & Deaths 
of British 8ul)jects to the Bishop of London's Registry for 
safe custody & reference in this Country ; the Bishops 
Registry being the only Pul)lic Registry for the C^lst()d^' 
of such documents within the Diocese &. from the circum- 
stance of the whole manuscript with the exception of the 
last five jiages being of historical interest the Register at 
the end of it might have been overlooked c^ thus it was 
retained amongst the other Historical Documents coiniected 
with the North American Colonies in the Ei)isco})al Regis- 
try at Fulham Palace simpl}' as a Historical Manuscri})t. 

On M''. BaA'ard making application to the Bisho}) of 
London to allow this Document to be transmitted to the 
President & Senate of the United States for custody it 
appeared to his Lordship after enquiries as to the practice 
of the Diocese in such Cases more especially on ascei'tain- 
ing that it contained an authentic Register of Marriages 
Births t'c Deaths which might be of inii)ortance in tracing- 
descents and rights of succession to pro})erty, directed the 
Manuscript to be deposited in the Strong Room of the 
Registry of the Court & referred the Ap})lication to be 
dealt with Ijy the Court. 

The onl}^ re})orted Case pertinent to the present Appliea- 
tion is in the Matter of An Application on the Motion of 
Her Majesty's Government to the Prerogative Court of 
Canterbury in \)^Wr, for the delivery of the Original Will 
&j Codicils of The Em])er()r Nai)o]eon I, which had been 
proved in that Court on the 5^'' of August 1824 to Lord 
John Russell Her Majestj 's Principal Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs for the piU'})ose of being made over to 
the French Government u])on a Notarial Copy thereof 
being left in the Registry of the Court. The Application 
was founded on an affidavit of Lord John Russell, deposing 
that it appeared to Her ]\Iajesty's Gov™* that on grounds 
of public })olicy such application should be com})lied Avith. 

The Queen's Advocate Sir John Harding referred to' three 
cases in suj^port of his a})})lication stating that the (juestion 
Avas simply one of discretion ; that sufficient grounds had 



68 American Anfiquarian Society. 

Iieon set forth in the affidavit of the Seeretary of State to 
justify the Court in making- the Decree, that no ones 
interest couhl he injured therehy & tliat the survi vino- 
Executors were consenting. In re The Will of The Empe- 
ror Napoleon Buonaparte. 2 Kohertson Ke})orts (50(5. 
Sir John Dodson in delivering Judgment said "This is an 
"Application, at the instance of the Lords of the Treasury ; 
"to this Court to decree the AVill & several C^odicils of the 
"late Napoleon Buonaparte to he delivered out of the 
"Registry to Her Majesty's Princi})al Secretary of State 
"for Foreign Affairs, for the ])urpose of being given up 
"to the French Government. The (xround of the Apj)lica- 
"tion is stated to be pu])lic policy, which the (Queen's 
"Advocate seemed to think was of itself almost sufficient 
"to induce the Court to grant the prayer. I cannot, how- 
"ever, hold to that view; it is necessarA" to show that the 
"step pro})osed to be taken is c()nf()rmal)le to law. Un- 
"doul)tedlj this Court, as all other Courts, is desirous to 
" carrj^ into effect the views of Her Majesty's Government ; 
"nevertheless it must not venture to go beyond the limits 
"of legal authority. In a C-ountry governed by settled 
"laws, it is necessary for Courts to be guided by those 
"laws, & not by the will & desire of a government." 

"In the present instance it was })ointed out to me that, 
" independently of the wishes of Her Majesty's Government, 
"there is legal authority to justify me in c()m})lying with 
"the a})plication. Three cases have been })r()duced from 
"the Records of this Court." 

"The Third Case mentioned, which occurred in 1839, 
"api)ears to furnish a more direct l)earing. The Case was 
"this : — Sir Herbert Taylor made a Codicil at Rome to his 
" Will, the papers were })roved here, & that Codicil Avas 
" afterwards delivered out for the purpose of being sent to 
"France, there to be })laced in proi)er custody.'' 

"On consideration, I think, I ma)' be justified in follow- 
" ing Sir Herbert Taylor's case, and granting the present 
"application, but I cannot do so exactly in accordance with 
"the })recise form of the prayer, as I have not, I conceive, 
"the i^ower. I shall ordei' the |)a})ers asked for to be 
"delivered out, not for the i)urpose of their being sent to 
"the French Government, but for the pur})ose of placing 
"them in the Custody of the legal authorities in France, 



Return of the Manuscript. fi9 

"to be recordod in the ]>roper })laee ; and I have no dou])t 
"that Lord -John Kus.sell Avill take eare that this condition is 
"comi)lied with. I will direct the Rei>istrar, after notarial 
"copies have been made, to attend on his Lordship, and 
"deliver the oriirinal i^a})ers to him, for which he must 
"give a receijit. I think I am justified in going thus far, 
"as in some res})ects, this Case is stronger than Sir Herbert 
"Tavlors. Sir Herbert was beyond doubt a domiciled 
"Englishman, but Na})oleon Bonai)arte, though a })risoner 
"at S*. Helena, did not, I conceive, from that circumstance 
"lose his French domicile, moreover, his property in this 
"Country was very small. Tudcr all the circumstances of 
"the case, I decree the original pai)ers to be delivered out, 
"in order that they may be sent, as in Taylor's case, to the 
"legal Authorities in France." 

The (Queens Advocate intimated he could m)t })ledge 
himself, inasnmch as he had no authority to acce})t the 
grant in any other form than that moved by him, that the 
exact terms, specified by the Court, would l)e ol)served by 
the Secretary of State. The Court stated it nmst adhere 
to its decree, & could not presume that it would be dis- 
regarded. 

The application in the })resent case differs from the one 
the Court has just referred to in the following ])articulars. 

In that Case the Estate of The Eni})eror had long J)een 
distributed & the Testamentary Pa})ers in (juestion Avere 
no longer of pecuniary interest to anyone and the surviv- 
ing executors of this will were consenting parties to the 
application. 

In the present case the entries in the Register may 
involve the pecuniary interest of descendants of Families 
named in it in tracing and establishing their rights to suc- 
cession to })ro})erty and it is therefore the duty of the 
Court in making any order for its removal to other custody 
to take esi)ecial care that such i)ersons shall not be thereby 
prejudiced. It is also a matter for obser\'ation that at the 
time when the Manuscrijit was transmitted to Fulhani 
Palace the Bishop of London's Registry in Doctors Com- 
mon's was a legitimate })lace for de])ositing Registers or 
Certificates of Marriages, Baptisms, iSc Deaths of persons 
resident in the Colonies as well as of persons resident in 
the London Diocese in England and that as on the Declara- 



70 American Aidlquarkoi Society. 

tion of Indopcndeiu'e tlie Diocesan R('<>istry ceased to be 
the Registry for Marriages, Bai)ti.siiis, & Deaths in New 
Eiiiilaiid, ill aiudoiiv to the i)ractice in this Country when 
a New Diocese is carved out of an Old One a transfer of 
all documents in the Registry of the Old Diocese relating 
to the New Diocese is ordered to be made to the Registry 
of the New Diocese — the transmission of this Register to 
the Country to which it relates may 1)e properly made. 
The Court Avill make a Decree for the transmission of this 
Manuscript Book to the Governor of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts in The United States of America subject 
to certain terms and conditions which I will settle in 
Chambers. Had this Manuscript l)een solely of Historical 
Value the Court Avould have had no hesitation in acting 
ui)on the precedent of The Lilirary Comimny of Philadel- 
})hia referred to l)y M''. Statham who so lil)erally restored 
to this Country certain corres})ondence of National Interest 
which Avas de})osited in that Lil)rary. 

/;/ tJie Ooiisisfoi-// Ootirf of London. 

IN THE .MATTER OF THE LOG OF THE MAY- 
FLOWER. 

Second Juikiment Delivered on the FIanding Over 

OF "The Log" to Mi;. Bayaim) at London House 

ON Thursday, May 29th, 1897. 



/;/ tJie Consixtori/ Court of London. 

In the Matter of The Log of the Mayflower. 

On Saturday the 10*'' of A})ril an Application was made 
to me in the })resence of the Lord Bislio}) of London and 
of the Registrar of the Court by M'". Henry White, Secre- 
tary to the American Embassy, on the instructions of the 
Hon'''''. Colonel Hay, the jn-esent American Aml)assador, 
for the Manuscri})t to l)e delivered over to Colonel Hay on 
his arrival in England, or to himself in the meantime, in- 
stead of to M'. Bayard, on the ground that M''. Bayard on 
his return from the Continent to England, when the deliv- 
ery was to be made to him, would have ceased to be 
Ambassador here. 



Return of the Mamisrvipt. 71 

He stated, that if hi.s A})})lication was granted, the 
Manuscript Avould be transmitted with other State Papers 
to the President of the United States with a view to its 
transmission 1)y the President to the Governor of Massa- 
chusetts to be deposited hy him either in the State Archives 
or with the Historical Society in the City of Boston, in 
comi)liance Avith the Order of the Court. It aj)peared to 
me, that the application was a reasonabh' one, l)ut I pointed 
out to M'. A^^hite, that preliminarv to my lirantiuii- it, if it 
were in my i)ower to do so, it would be necessary for a 
formal application to be made to me in open (^ourt to vary 
the Decree in the manner sua<»'ested, tVc that if I acceded to 
this, it would be competent to any person allciiina- an 
interest in the matter, to appeal from the Amended Decree 
to the Arches and from thence to the .ludicial Committee. 
Whereas the time for appealing from the original decree if 
it remained unaltered viz. lo davs from the date of its ))einii' 
made had ex])ired. ^I''. White thereu})on said he Avould 
leave his a})plication to l)e dealt with Ijy me as I might deem 
right. I considered however, that the a})plication having 
been made on the instructions of an Ambassador at the (\)urt 
of S'. James's it was only due to His Excellency, that I 
should maturely consider the (juestion, & state on the pres- 
ent occasion whether it was or was not within })owers 
discretionary or otherwise vested in the Coiu't com})etent to 
it to make such a variation in the Decree. I have now come 
to the conclusion, that it would not be in accordance with 
the practice of the Court, or just to the parties interested 
in the Manuscript that I should so vary the original Decree. 

In my Judgment I stated, that as the entries in the 
Register at the end of the Maiuiscri})t might involve the 
})ecuniary interests of families named in it in tracing c*c 
establishing their rights to succession to propert}^ it was the 
duty of the Court in making any Order for its removal to 
other Custody, to take es})ecial care that such })ersons 
should not l)e therein' })rejudiced. For my assistance in 
giving directions in the Registry as to the terms in which 
the Decree of the CV)urt should be framed I ol)tained from 
the Princi})al Probate Registry a Coi\v of the Order made 
by the Prerogative (/ourt of Canterbury for the delivery 
up of the Will & Codicils of The Em])eror Nai»()le()n I. 
as being the precedent on which I relied in grantino- the 



72 American Antiquarian Society. 

A})})licati()n in the present Ca.se. The Order is dated 
February 17*'\ 1853, and is m the following terms " F. H. 
Dyke Her Majesty's Procurator General Exhil)ited Affidavit 
of the Rt lion John Russell connnonly called Lord John 
Russell and also Affidavit of John Allen Powell P^sij and 
Ijrought in Proxy of consent with Act of C'ourt s})ed 
thereon and also statement in writing ; The Judiife havinof 
read the sd Affidavits and Statement at Petition of Dyke 
and on ^Motion of Her Majesty's Advocate directed the 
Original Will & Codicils of the said deceased now remain- 
ing in the Registry of this Court to be delivered into the 
possession Her ^Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs by one of the l^eputv Registrars of this Court for 
the purpose of being recorded or filed in the })ro})er CV)urt 
or Avith the legal authorities in France or a Notarial Copy 
of the said Will & Codicils l)eing left in the Registry of 
this Court and assigned Dyke to bring in a Certificate of 
the said original Will and CVxlieils being recorded or filed 
as aforesaid. It is of importance for the purpose of })re- 
serving to persons interested in the entries in the Register 
at the end of the Manuscri])t the same right as they would 
have had if the Manuscrii)t had remained under the control 
of the Court that the Decree of the Court should be so framed 
as to entitle them to enforce comi)liance with its })ro visions 
in the Courts of the United States after its transfer to that 
Country. According to the law on this })oint as stated by 
M"". fJustice Story in his great work on the Conflict of 
Laws ; and the American Cases cited by him, it seems that 
compliance with the provisions of the Decree which will 
be read would l)e enforced in the Courts of the United 
States. 

" The reasonable dot-trine seems to be sa3\s M"". flustice 
Story in order to found a proper ground of recognition of 
any Foreign Judgment in another Country that the Court 
pronouncing judgment should have c()m})lete jurisdiction 
over the cause, over the thing, and over the })arty (sec. 5<S() ). 
In proceeding in rem against movable })roi)erty, within the 
jurisdiction of the Court pronouncing the Judgment what- 
ever the (\)urt settles as to the right or title or as to 
its disposition by transfer or other Act will be held valid 
in every other Country, where the same question conies 
directly or indirectly in Judgment before any other Tri- 



Return of the Manuscrtjit. 73 

bunal (Sec. 592). In the })re.sent case the Manuscript or 
movable property is Avithin the Jurisdiction of the Court 
and sul)ject to its decrees. M'". Bayard is also within its 
jurisdiction and will noAv undertake not as Auil)assador, 
])ut as an indiyidual to act as the Delegate of the Court in 
this matter in the place of the Registrar who })rimarily 
would l)e the })roper Official to convey the Manuscrii)t to 
the Governor of the Conmionwealth of Massachusetts. 
M''. White's i)roposal was that the Court should order the 
Manuscript to be delivered to Colonel Hay as Aml)assador 
to l)e forwarded l)y him with the State Pa})ers to The 
President of the United States, in order that it might l)e 
transmitted l)y the President to the Governor of The Com- 
monwealth for the i)ur})oses named in the Decree. The 
objection to so varying the Decree is that the Court has no 
power to make an Order on the Head of a Sovereign State 
to caii'v out any of the })rovisions in its Decrees, c^c that 
such an Order, if made, would not l)e enforceable against 
the President, as far as m}" researches have gone, in the 
Courts of The United States at the instance of an aggrieved 
party. 

Under these circumstances my duty will be to adhere to 
the Original Decree as directed l)y me and which is sul)- 
stantially in the terms of the Prayer of the Petition & 
AV'ith the Oi'der of the Prerogative Court of Canterl)ury 
made in the matter of The A^"i^l c'c Codicils of The Emperor 
Napoleon I. 

In tJie Consi'sfoi'i/ Court of London. 

"LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER." 

Undertaking by Hon. Thomas Francis Bayard. 



1)1 the Consistori/ Court of London. 

In the jNIatter of the original Manuscript of the 

Book entitled and known as "The Log 

of the Mayflower." 

I The Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard lately Am- 
bassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America at the Court of Saint James's London 
Do hereby undertake in compliance with the Order of 



74 American Antiquarian Society. 

thi.s IIonoral)le Court dated the Twelfth day of April 1^97 
and made on my Petition filed in the tsaid Honoral)le Com't, 
that I will with all due care and diliiience on my arrival 
from England in the United States of America safely convey 
over the original Manuscript Book known as and entitled 
"The Log- of the Mayflower" which has heen this twenty 
ninth day of A})ril 1897 delivered over to me by the Lord 
Bishop of London, to the City of Boston in the United 
States of America and on my arrival in the said City deliver 
the same over in person to the Governor of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts at his oflicial Oflice in the State 
House in the said City of Boston And I further hereby 
undertake from the time of the said delivery of the said 
Book to me l)y the said Lord Bishop of London until I 
shall have delivered the same to the Governor of ^Nlassachu- 
setts to retain the same in my own personal custod}^ 

T. F. BAYARD. 

2gth jipyii 1S97. 

Over here there has been a little difficulty of understand- 
ing the principle on which the Consistory Court proceed. 
If the surrender of the nianuscri})t be ordered on the 
ground that the pro})erty is not in the Bisho]) l)ut that it 
belongs to some person here, it would seem that the Court 
could not inn)ose conditions upon the surrender, or order 
the manuscript delivered to the Governor ov dei)osited in 
the })ublic archives of Massachusetts. On the other hand, 
if there lie no title established in any person other than the 
Bishop, and he hold it in an official and not a personal 
ca[)acity as a public record, it is hard to see l)y what 
authority any court, or even the Bishop himself, has })ower 
to make the disposition found in the decree. 

It is not im})ortant to settle this (juestion. We certainly 
have no disjiosition to look a gift horse in the mouth. 
Still less have we the least desire to raise doubts of the 
legality of what has occasioned such intense delight to all 
of us. But we have no doubt his Lordship and the Court 
well kneAv what tliej^ were about. 



Return of tJie Manuscript. 75 

Perhaps the whole matter may be ex[)lained l)y cou.sidcr- 
iiig the special power and function of the Judg-e of the 
Consistory Court. He is the Bisho})'s Vicar-General. 
His powers are not set forth, all of them, very fully in any 
text-book that we have been able to find. But they are of 
great anti(juity and were well estal)lished in the usages of 
the Catholic Church long before the Keformation. The 
relation of the Vicar-General to the Bishop is much like 
that of the Chancellor to the Crown. In some cases his 
duties are purely judicial, Ijinding the Bishop as the 
judicial action of the Chancellor ])inds the King and 
absolutely inde})endent of any authorit}' on the i)art of the 
Bishop to interfere with them as the judicial functions of 
the Chancellor are inde})endent of au}^ interference from 
the Crown. In all matters pertaining to the administra- 
tion of justice, the authority of the Chancellor is as inde- 
pendent of that of the CroAvn as is the authorit}^ of the 
Court of King's Bench. There are other things, however, 
which the King does by his Chancellor. These are exer- 
tions of the royal authority, of the royal discretion, and 
sometimes of the royal benevolence. This distinction is 
well explained l)y the Supreme Court of the United States 
in the case of Fontain v. Ravenel, 17 How. p. 882. 

The following statements of the powers and functions 
of Vicars-General may be found in a book now of high 
authority in the Catholic Church, viz. : 



Elements of Ecclesiastical Law. Compiled ^vith refer- 
ence to the Sjdlabus, the "Const. Apostolicae Sedis" of 
Pope Pius IX., the Council of the Vatican and the latest 
Decisions of the Roman Congregations ada})ted especially 
to the Discipline of the Church in the United States. By 
Rev. S. B. Smith, D.D., formerly Professor of Canon Law, 
Author of "Notes," etc. 



76 American Antiquoi'ian Society. 

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF VICARS- 
GENERAL. 

Definition. A Vicar-General is one legitimately ap- 
pointed to exercise, in a general wa}^ e})iscopal jurisdiction 
in the I3islio})'s stead, in such manner that his acts are con- 
sidered the acts of the Bishop himself. Smith, El. Eccles. 
LaAv, p. 340. 

The Vicar-General's jurisdiction is, like the Bishoi)'s, 
co-extensive with the diocese ; it extends to all persons 
and matters within the diocese, and his acts have the same 
effect in law as if d'one by the Bishop himself. Id. p. 341. 

JuHisDicTioN. As a general rule, the Vicar-General's 
jurisdiction extends to things tcnn)oral as well as to things 
spiritual. Although ordinarily ajipointed by the Bishop, 
he receives his jurisdiction from the common law. His 
powers, morally at least, are determined certo etjixo modo,^ 
quern episcopus mutare nequit. His a})i)ointnient, ipso 
facto, confers upon him those powers, of which the scope 
cannot be altered or the exercise restrained by the Bishop, 
unless b}^ removal. 

Appeal. Inasmuch as the V. G. represents in ecclesi- 
astical law the i)erson of the Bishop, it follows as a natural 
conse(iuence that no appeal lies from a sentence of the V. 
G. to the Bishop (a sententia vicarii genei'alis non datur 
ad ejjiscopum appellatio). But a petition may always be 
addressed to him for the remission of the penalty imposed 
hy the V. G. p. 343. 

The Tribunal (consistorium, auditoriavi) of the V. G. 

IS CONSIDERED IN ECCLESIASTICAL LaW THE TRIBUNAL OF 

THE Bishop ; the Person of the V. G. the Person of 
THE Bishop ; and the Sentence pronounced by the V. 
G. THE Sentence of the Bishop. lb. 

We understand that when the Bishop acts through his 
Vicar-General, in such cases the assent of the Bishop 
ordinarily must be o))tained to the filing of the petition. 
After the jurisdiction is so gained, however, he is not per- 
mitted to interfere further with the decree ; but he ma}" be 
heard as a party in oi)})osition, or ma}' give his consent to 
the decree as an}" other party concerned. 




THE RIGHT REVEREND AND RIGHT HONORABLE 

MANDELL CREIGHTON, D.D., 

Bishop of London. 



Return of the Manuscript . 11 

It seems not unlikely, therefore, that the Consistoiy 
Court treated this application as an application to transfer 
the custody of a record of interest to the pul)lic to a place 
of deposit where it would be more convenient of access to 
the persons principally interested. It is as if it had l)een 
found that some record or document in the possession of 
the Bishop of London related Avholly to titles or pedigrees 
in Wales or Scotland, and an application had heen made 
to transfer the custody to the locality for such reason 
deemed to be the most convenient. This would seem to 
be a fair exercise of official discretion, sui)posing- alwa} s 
that no act of Parliament compelled the Bishop to retain 
the custody. This explains the stress which is laid by the 
ct)urt in its decree upon the fact found by him, that these 
records may involve the pecuniary interest of descendants 
of families named in it, in tracing and establishing their 
rights to succession to property, etc. This seems to be 
the foundation of the action of the court and explains the 
conditions imposed in the decree. 

Decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court or 

London. 

MANDELL 1)y Divine Permission LORD 
BISHOP OF LONDON — To The Honor- 
able Thomas Francis Bayard Ambassador 
j^ Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Her 
^'^ ^Nlost Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria at 
the Court of Saint James's in London and 
To The Governor and Connnonwealth of ^Massachusetts in 
the United States of America Greeting — WHEREAS a 
Petition has 1)een filed in the Registry of Our Consistorial 
and Episcopal Court of London by you the said nonoral)le 
Thomas Francis Bayard as Ambassador Extraordinary and 
Plenipotentiary to Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen 
Victoria at the Court of Saint James's in London on l)ehalf 
of the President and Citizens of the United States of 
America wherein you have alleged that there is in Our 
Custody as Lord Bishop of London a certain Manuscript 




78 American Antiquarian Society. 

Book known as and entitled "The Log of the Maytlower" 
containing an account as narrated }\y Captain William Brad- 
ford who was one of the Company of Englishmen who left 
England in April 1()20 in the ship known as "The May- 
flower " of the circumstances leading to the prior Settlement 
of that Company at Leyden in Holland their return to 
England and su1)se(juent departure for New P^ngland their 
landing at Cai)e Cod in Deceml)er l(i20 their Settlement at 
New Plymouth and their later history for several years 
they being the Company whose Settlement in America is 
regarded as the first real Colonisation of the New England 
States and wherein you have also alleged that the said 
Manuscri}it Book had l)een for many }^ears past and was 
then deposited in the Li])rary attached to Our Episcopal 
Palace at Fulham in the County of Middlesex and is of the 
greatest interest im})ortance and value to the Citizens of the 
United States of America inasmuch as it is one of the earli- 
est records of their national History and contains much 
valuable information in regard to the original Settlers in 
the States their family history and antecedents and that 
therefore you earnestly desired to accjuire possession of 
the same for and on l)ehalf of the President and Citizens of 
the said United States of America AND WHEREIN you 
have also alleged that you are informed that We as Loi'd 
Bishop of London had fully recognised the value and inter- 
est of the said Manuscript Book to the Citizens of the 
United States of America and the claims which the}^ have 
to its possession and that We were desirous of transferring 
it to the said President and Citizens AND WHEREIN 
you have also alleged that you are advised and believe that 
the Custody of documents in the nature of public or eccle- 
siastical records belonging to the See of London is vested 
in the Consistorial Court of the said See and that any dis- 
}iosal thereof nnist be authorised by an Order issued by 
the Judge of that Honorable Court And that you therefore 
huml)ly prayed that the said Honorable Court would deliver 
to you the said Manuscript Book on your undertaking to 
use every means in your })ower for the safe transmission 
of the siiid Book to the United States of America and its 
secure deposit and custod}^ in the Pilgrim Hall at New 
Plymouth or in such other place as may be selected l)y the 
President and the Senate of the said United States and 



Return of the Manuscript. 79 

npon such conditions as to securit}' and access by and on 
l)ehalf of the English Nation as that Honorable t'ourt 
mio-ht determine AND WHEREAS the said Petition was 
set down for hearing' on one of the Court days in Hilary 
Term to Avit Thursday the Twenty fifth day of March One 
thousand eight hun(b'ed and ninety seven in Our Consis- 
torial Court in tlie Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in 
London l)efore The Rii>ht Worshipful Thomas Hutchinson 
Tristram Doctor of Laws and one of Her Majesty's Counsel 
learned in the Law Our Vicar General and Official Principal 
the Judge of the said Court and you at the sitting of the 
said Court appeared b}^ Counsel in support of the Prayer 
of the said Petition and during the hearing thereof the said 
Manuscript Book was produced in the said Court by Our 
legal Secretary and was then inspected and examined l>y the 
said Judge and evidence was also given l)efore the Court by 
which it appeared that the Registry at Fulham Palace was 
a Pul)lic Registry for Historical and Ecclesiastical Docu- 
ments relating to the Diocese of London and to the Colo- 
nial and other i)()ssessions of Great Britain l)eyond the 
Seas so long as the same remained l)y custom within the 
said Diocese AND WHEREAS it appeared on the face of 
the said Manuscript Book that the whole of the l)ody 
thereof with the exception of part of the last page thereof 
was in the han(hvriting of the said William Bradford who 
was elected Governor of New Plymouth in April 1()21 and 
continued Governor thereof from that date excepting 
between the years 1635 and 1637 up to 1650 and that the 
last five pages of the said Manuscript which is in the hand- 
writing of the said William Bradford contain what in Law 
is an authentic Register between 1620 and 1650 of the fact 
of the Marriages of the Founders of the Colony of New 
England with the names of their respective wives and 
the names of their (Children the lawful issue of such Mar- 
riages and of the fact of the Marriages of many of their 
Children and Grandchildren and of the names of the issue 
of such marriages and of the deaths of many of the }ier- 
sons named therein And after hearing Counsel in support 
of the said apjjlication the Judge being of opinion that the 
said Manuscript Book had been upon the evidence before 
the Court presumablj^ deposited at Fulham Palace sometime 
between the year 1729 and the year 1785 during which 



80 American Antiqiiarian Society. 

time the said Colony was 1)}^ custom within the Diocese of 
London for pm-poses Ecclesiastical and the Registry of the 
said Consistorial Court was a legitimate Registry for the 
Custody of Registers of Marriages Births and Deaths within 
the said Colony and that the Registry at Fulham Palace 
was a registry for Historical and other Documents con- 
nected with the Colonies and possessions of Great Britain 
beyond the Seas so long as the same remained by custom 
wilhin the Diocese of London and that on the Declaration of 
the Independence of the United States of America in 1776 
the said Colony had ceased to l)e within the Diocese of Lon- 
don and the Registry of the Court had ceased to be a imldic 
registry for the said Colony and having maturely deliberated 
on the Cases precedents and practice of the Ecclesiastical 
Court l)earing on the application l)efore him and having 
regard to the S})ecial (Circumstances of the Case Decreed 
as follows — (1) That a Phot()grai)hic facsimile repro- 
duction of the said Manuscript Book verified by affidavit 
as being a true and correct Photographic reproduction of 
the said Manuscript Book be deposited in the Registry of 
Our said Court l)v or on behalf of the Petitioner liefore 
the delivery to the Petitioner of the said original Manu- 
script Book as hereinafter ordered — (2) That the said 
Manuscript Book be delivered over to the said Honorable 
Thomas Francis Bayard by the Lord Bishoji of London or 
in his Lordshijj's al)sence by the Registrar of the said 
Court on his aivino- his undertakino- in writing that he will 
with all due care and diligence on his arrival from England 
in the United States convey and deliver in person the said 
Manuscript Book to the Governor of the Commonwealth 
of ^lassachusetts in the United States of America at his 
Official Office in the State House in the City of Boston and 
that from the time of the delivery of the said Book to him 
l)y tlie said Lord Bisho}) of London or l)y the said Regis- 
trar until he shall have delivered the same to the Governor 
of Massachusetts he will retain the same in his own 
Personal custody — (3) That the said Book be deposited 
l)y the Petitioner with the Governor of Massachusetts for 
the ])urp()se of the same being Avith all convenient speed 
finally de})()sited either in the State Archives of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the City of Boston or 
in the Librarv of the Historical Society of the said Com- 



Return of the Manuf^Gript. 81 

moil wealth in the City of Boston a.s the Governor shall 
determine — (4) That the Governors of the said Com- 
monwealth for all time to come be officially responsible for 
the safe cnstody of the said Manuscript Book whether the 
same be deposited in the State Archives at Boston or in the 
Historical Lilirary in Boston aforesaid as well as for the 
performance of the following conditions subject to a com- 
pliance wherewith the said Manuscript Book is hereb}^ 
decreed to be deposited in the Custody of the aforesaid 
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and his 
Successors to Avit : — (a) That all persons have such 
access to the said Manuscript Book as to the Governor of 
the said Commonwealth for the time being shall appear to 
be reasonable and with such safeguard as he shall order — 
(1)) That all persons desirous of searching the said jNIanu- 
script Book for the bona fide purpose of establishing or 
tracing a Pedigree through persons named in the last five 
pages thereof or in any other part thereof shall be per- 
mitted to search the same under such safeguards as the 
Governor for the time being shall determine on pa^'ment 
of a fee to be fixed by the Governor — (c) That any 
person applying to the Official having the immediate 
custody of the said Manuscript Book for a Certified (V)py 
of any entry contained in proof Marriage Birth or Death 
of persons named therein or of any other matter of like 
purport for the purpose of tracing descents shall be fur- 
nished Avith such certificate on the payment of a sum not 
exceeding one Dollar — (d) That with all convenient 
speed after the delivery of the said JNIanuscript Book to 
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the 
Governor shall transmit to the Registrar of the Court a 
Certificate of the delivery of the same to him 1)}^ the Peti- 
tioner and that he acce})ts the Custody of the same subject 
to the terms and conditions herein named AND the Judge 
lastly decreed that the Petitioner on delivering the said 
Manuscript Book to the Governor aforesaid shall at the 
same time deliver to him this Our Decree Sealed with the 
Seal of the Court WHEREFORE WE the Bishop of 
London aforesaid well weighing and considering the prem- 
ises DO by virtue of Our Authority Ordinary and Episco- 
pal and as far as in Us lies and by Law We may or can 
ratify and cf)nfirin such Decree of Our Vicar General and 



82 American Antiqiiarimi Society. 

Official Principal of Our Con.si.storial and Episcopal Court 
of London IN TESTIMONY whereof We have caused 
the Seal of Our said Vicar General and Official Principal 
of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London which 
We use in this behalf to he affixed to these Presents 
DATED AT LONDON this Twelfth day of April One 
thousand eiiiht hundred and ninety seven and in the first 
year of Our Translation. 

HAREY W. LEE, 
Exd. H.E.T. Registrar. 

(L. S.) 

RECEIPT OF HIS EXCELLENCY ROGER 
WOLCOTT. 



Receipt of Governor Wolcott. 

His Excellency Roger Wolcott, Governor of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States 
of America. 

To the Registrar of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court 

of London. 

Whereas, The said Honorable Court, by its decree dated 
the twelfth day of April, LSI)?, and made on the petition 
of the Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard, lately Ambassa- 
dor Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States 
of America at the Court of Saint James in London, did 
order that a certain original manuscript l)ook then in the 
custody of the Lord Bislu^p of London, known as and 
entitled "The Log of the Mayflower," and more specifically 
descril)ed in said decree, should l^e delivered over to the 
said Hf)noral)le Thomas Francis Bayard by the Lord Bishop 
of London, on certain conditions specified in said decree, 
to 1)6 delivered by the said Honorable Thomas Francis 
Bayard in person to the Governor of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts, thereafter to be kept in the custody of 
the aforesaid Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 



Return of the Manm^eript. 83 

setts and his successors, subject to a compliance with cer- 
tain conditions, as set forth in said decree ; 

And Whereas^ The said Honorable Court b}' its decree 
aforesaid did further order that, with all con^ enient speed 
after the delivery of the said manuscript book to the Gov- 
ernor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Governor 
should transmit to the Registrar of the said Honorable 
Court a certificate of the delivery of the same to him by 
the said Honoralile Thomas Francis Bayard, and his accept- 
ance of the custody of the same, subject to the terms and 
conditions named in the decree aforesaid ; 

Now, Therefore, In compliance Avith the decree aforesaid 
I do herel)y certify that on the twenty-sixth day of Mav, 
181>7, the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard delivered 
in person to me, at my official office in the State House in 
the city of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
in the United States of America, a certain manuscript book 
which the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard then and 
there declared to be the original manuscript l)ook knoAvn 
as and entitled "The Log of the Mayflower," which is more 
specificall}' described in the decree aforesaid ; and I do 
further certify that I herel)y accept the custody of the 
same, subject to the terms and conditions named in the 
decree aforesaid. 

In ivitness vihereof, I ha^e hereunto signed my name and 
caused the seal of the Conmionwealth to be affi'xed, at the 
Capitol in Boston, this twelfth daj' of Jidy in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninetj^-seven. 

ROGER WOLCOTT. 

By His Excellency the Governor, 

WM. M. OLIN, 

Secretary of the Oommonwealth . 

The following proceedings Avere had in the Representa- 
tives' Chamber at the State House in Boston, May 2 (J, 
1897, in the presence of the Governor, the Lieutenant 
Governor, the Executive Council, a Joint Convention of 
the tAVo Houses of the Legislature and a large and brilliant 
concourse of citizens. Hon. George P. Lawrence, Presi- 
dent of the Senate, presided. 



84 American Antiquarian Society. 

ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. 

The first American aml)assador to Great Britain, at tlie 
end of his official service, comes to Massacliusetts on an 
interesting errand. He comes to deliver to tlie lineal suc- 
cessor of Governor Bradford, in the presence of the repre- 
sentatives and rulers of the body politic formed hy the 
compact on board the "Mayflower," November 11, 1620, 
the only authentic history of the founding of their Com- 
monwealth ; the only authentic histor}' of what we have a 
right to consider the most important i)olitical transaction 
that has ever taken place on the face of the earth. 

Mr. Baj^ard has sought to represent to the mother 
country, not so much the diplomacy as the good-will of 
the American people. If in this anyl)ody be tempted to 
judge him severely, let us remember what his great prede- 
cessor, John Adams, the first minister at the same court, 
representing more than any other man, embodying more 
than any other man, the spirit of Massachusetts, said to 
George HI., on the first day of June, 1785, after the close 
of our long and l)itter struggle for independence : "I shall 
esteem myself the happiest of men if I can 1)e instrumental 
in restoring an entire esteem, confidence and affection, or, 
in l)etter words, the old good-nature and the old good- 
humor between people who, though separated by an ocean 
and under different governments, have the same language, 
a similar relimon and kindred blood." 

And let us remember, too, the answer of the old mon- 
arch, who, with all his faults, must have had something of 
a nol)le and royal nature stirring in his bosom, when he 
rei)lied : " Let the circumstances of language, religion and 
l)lood have their natural and full effect." 

It has long; been well known that Governor Bradford 
wrote and left behind him a history of the settlement of 
Plymouth. It was quoted by early chroniclers. There 



Return of the Manuscript. 85 

are extracts from it in the records at Ph month. Thomas 
Prince used it Avhen he compiled his "Annals." Hubbard 
depended on it when he wrote his " History of New Eng- 
land." Cotton Mather had read it, or a co})j of a portion 
of it, Avhen he wrote his "Magnalia." Governor Hutchin- 
son liad it when he })ublished the second volume of his 
historv in 1767. From that time it disappeared from the 
Ivnowledge of evervl)ody on this side of the water. All 
our historians speak of it as lost, and can only guess what 
had been its fate. Some persons suspected that it was 
destroyed when Governor Hutchinson's house was sacked 
in 1765, others that it was carried off 1)}^ some officer or 
soldier Avhen Boston was evacuated ])y the British army 
in 1776. 

In 1844 Samuel Wil))erforce, Bislioj) of Oxford, after- 
ward Bishop of Winchester, one of the brightest of men, 
pu))lished one of the dullest and stupidest of books. It is 
entitled " The History of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in America." It contained extracts from manuscri})ts 
which he said he had discovered in the library of the 
Bishop of London at Fulhani. The book attracted no 
attention here until, al)out twelve years later, in 1855, 
John Wingate Thornton, whom many of us remember as 
an accomplished anti(|uary and a delightful gentleman, 
ha})pened to pick up a copy of it while he was lounging in 
Burnham's l)ook-store. He read the Bishop's quotations, 
and carried the book to his office, where he left it for his 
friend, Mr. Barry, who was then writing his "Historv of 
Massachusetts," with i)assages marked, and Avith a note 
which is not preserved, but Avhich, according to his mem- 
ory, suggested that the passages nnist have come from 
Bradford's long-lost histor}\ That is the claim for Mr. 
Thornton. On the other hand, it is claimed by Mr. Barry 
that there was nothing of that kind expressed in Mr. 
Thornton's note, but in readinc: the book when he jjot it 
an hour or so later, the thought struck him for the first 



86 American Antiquarmn Societf/. 

time that the clew had been found to the })reciou8 book 
which had l^een lost so long. He at once rei)aired to 
Charles Deane, then and ever since, down to his death, as 
President Eliot felicitously styled him, "the master of 
historical investigators in this countr}'." Mr. Deane saw 
the importance of the discover3\ He comnumicated at 
once Avith Joseph Hunter, an eminent English scholar. 
Hunter was high authority on all matters connected with 
the settlement of New England. He visited the })alace at 
Fulliam, and esta])lished beyond (juestion the identit}^ of 
the manuscript with Governor Bradford's histor}^ an origi- 
nal letter of Governor Bradford having been sent over for 
comparison of handAvriting. 

HoAv the manuscri})t got to Fulham nobody knows. 
Whether it Avas carried over l)y Governor Hutchinson in 
1774 ; Avhether it Avas taken as spoil from the toAver of the 
Old South Church in 1775 ; Avhether, Avith other manu- 
scripts, it Avas sent to Fulham at the time of the attempts 
of the Episcopal churches in America, just before the revo- 
lution, to establish an episcopate here, — nobody knows. 
It would seem that Hutchinson Avould have sent it to the 
colonial office ; that an officer Avould naturally have sent it 
to the Avar office ; and a private Avould have sent it to the 
war office, unless he had carried it off as mere private 
l)ooty and })lunder, — in which case it would have l)een 
unlikely that it Avould have reached a })ul)lic })lace of 
custody. But Ave find it in the possession of the church 
and of the church official having, until inde})endence Avas 
declared, special jurisdiction over Ei)iscoi)al interests in 
Massachusetts and Phmouth. This may seem to point to 
a transfer for some ecclesiastical pur})ose. 

The Bishop's Chancellor conjectures that it Avas sent to 
Fulham l)ecause of the record annexed to it of the early 
})irths, marriages and deaths, such records being in Eng- 
land ahvays in ecclesiastical custody. But this is merely 
conjecture. 



Return of the 3Ianuscri]jt. 87 

I know of no incident like this in hitstor}^ unless it be 
the discoveiT in a chest in the castle of Edin])urgh, where 
they had been lost for one hundred and eleven years, of 
the ancient regalia of Scotland, — the crown of Bruce, the 
sceptre and sword of state. The lovers of Walter Scott, 
who was one of the connnissioners Avho made the search, 
renienil)er his intense emotion, as descril)ed by his daughter, 
Avhen the lid was removed. Her feelings were worked up 
to such a })itch that she nearly fainted, and drew l)ack from 
the circle. 

As she was retiring she was startled by his voice exclaim- 
ing, in a tone of the deepest emotion, "something between 
anger and des[)air," as she exjn'cssed it: "By God, no!" 
One of the commissioners, not <{uite entering into the 
solemnity with which Scott regarded this business, had, it 
seems, made a sort of motion as if he meant to put the 
crown on the head of one of the young ladies near him, 
but the voice and the aspect of the poet were more than 
sufficient to make this worthy gentleman understand his 
error ; and, respecting the enthusiasm with which he had 
not been taught to sympathize, he laid down the ancient 
diadem with an air of })ainful eml)arrassment. Scott 
whispered, "Pray forgive me," and turning round at the 
moment ol)served his daughter deadly i)ale and leaning b}^ 
the door. He innnediately drew her out of the room, 
and when the air had somewhat recovered her, walked with 
her across Mound to Castle Street. "He never spoke all 
the way home," she says, "but every now and then I felt 
his arm tremble, and from that time I fancied he began to 
treat me more like a woman than a child. I thought he 
liked me better, too, than he had ever done before." 

There have been several attempts to })rocure the return 
of the maiuiscript to this countr}\ Mr. AVinthrop, in 
1860, through the venerable John Sinclair, Archdeacon, 
urged the Bishop of London to give it up, and proposed 
that the Prince of Wales, then just coming to this country, 



88 American Antiquarian Society. 

should take it across the Atlantic and present it to the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts. The Attorne_y-General, Sir Fitzroy 
Kelley, approved the plan, and said it would be an 
exceptional act of grace, a most interesting action, and 
that he heartil}^ wished the success of the application. 
But the Bisho}) refused. Again, in 18()1), John Lothrop 
Motle}^ then minister to England, avIio had a great and 
deserved influence there, repeated the proposition, at the 
suofgestion of that most accom})lislied scholar, Justin 
Winsor. But his api)eal had the same fate. The Bishop 
gave no encouragement, and said, as had lieen said nine 
years l^efore, that the property could not he alienated with- 
out an act of Parliament. Mr. Winsor })lamied to repeat 
the attempt on his visit to England in 1877. When he 
was at Fulham the Bisho}) was absent, and he was obliged 
to go home without seeing him in })erson. 

In 1881, at the time of the death of President Garfield, 
Benjamin Scott, Chamberlain of London, })roposed again 
in the neAvspapers that the restitution should be made. 
But nothing came of it. 

December 21, 1895, I delivered an address at Plymouth, 
on the occasion of the two hundred and seventy-fifth anni- 
versary of the landing of the Pilgrims upon the rock. In 
preparing for that duty, I read again, with renewed enthu- 
siasm and delight, the no])le and touching story, as told by 
Governor Bradford. I felt that this precious history of 
the Pilgrims ought to be in no other custody than that of 
their chiklren. But the case seemed ho})eless. I found 
myself compelled by a serious physical infirmity to take a 
vacation, and to get a rest from pul)lic cares and duties, 
which was impossi])le while I stayed at home. When I 
went abroad I determined to visit the locality, on the 
borders of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, from whicli Brad- 
ford and Brewster and Ro])inson, the three leaders of the 
Pilgrims, came, and where their first church was formed, 
and the places in Amsterdam and Leyden where the emi- 



Return of tlie Manuscript. 89 

grants spent thirteen 3'ears. But I longed esi)ecially to 
see the niannserii)t of Bradford at Fulham, which then 
seemed to me, as it now seems to me, the most i)recious 
manuscri})t on earth, unless we could recover one of the 
four gosi)els as it came in the l)eginning from the pen of 
the Evangelist. 

The desire to net it ])ack irrew and o-rew during the 
voyage across the Atlantic. I did not know how such a 
l)roposition Avould be received in England. A few days 
after I landed I made a call u})on flohn Morley. I asked 
him whether he thought the thing could l)e done. He 
in(|uired carefully into the stor}^ took down from his shelf 
the excellent though ])rief life of Bradford in Leslie 
Stephen's "Biographical Dictionary," and told me he 
thought the l)ook ought to come back to us, and that he 
should l)e glad to do anything in his i)ower to help. It 
was my fortune, a week or two after, to sit next to Mr. 
Ba3'ard at a dinner given to Mr. Collins by the American 
consuls in Great Britain. I took occasion to tell him the 
story, and he gave me the assurance, which he has since 
so abundantly and successfully fulfilled, of his })owerful 
aid. I was com})elled, by the health of one of the party 
with whom I was travelling, to go to the continent almost 
innnediately, and Avas disappointed in the hope of an early- 
return to England. So the matter was dela3"ed until 
a1)out a week liefore I sailed for home, when I went to 
Fulham, in the hope at least of seeing the manuscript. I 
had supposed that it was a ([uasi-public lil^rarj^ o})en to 
general visitors. But I found the Bishop was absent. I 
asked for the librarian, but there was no such officer, and 
I was told ver}^ politely that the library was not oi)en to 
the puljlic, and was treated in all res})ects as that of a 
private gentleman. So I gave up any hope of doing au}^- 
thing in })erson. But I hap})ened the Friday l^efore I 
sailed for home to dine Avith an English friend Avho had 
been exceedingly kind to me. As he took leave of me, 



90 American Antiquarian Society. 

about eleven o'clock in the evening, he asked me if there 
was anything more he could do for me. I said, "No, 
unless you ha})pen to know the Lord Bishop of London. 
I should like to get a sight at the manuscript of Bradford's 
history l)efore I go home." He said, "I do not know the 
Bishop myself, but Mr. Grenfell, at whose house 3^ou 
spent a few days in the early summer, is the Bishop's 
nephew b}^ marriage, and will gladly give you an intro- 
duction to his uncle. He is in Scotland. But I Avill write 
to him l)efore I go to bed." 

Sunday morning brought me a cordial letter from Mr. 
Grenfell, introducing me to the Bishoj). I wrote a note 
to his lordship, saying I should be glad to have an oppor- 
tunity to see Bradford's history ; that I was to sail for the 
United States the next Wednesday, but would ])e pleased 
to call at Fulham Tuesda}^ if that were agreeable to 
him. 

I got a note in reply, in which he said if I Avould call on 
Tuesday he would he happy to show me " The Log of the 
Mayflower," which is the title the English, without the 
slightest reason in the world, give the manuscrii)t. I kept 
the api)ointment, and found the Bishop with the l)ook in 
his hand. He received me with great courtesy, showed 
me the })alace, and said that that spot had l)een occupied 
b}^ a Bishop's })alace for more than a thousand years. 

After looking at the volume and reading the records on 
the flyleaf, I said : " My lord, I am going to say some- 
thing Avhicli you may think rather audacious. I think this 
book ought to go back to Massachusetts. Nobody knows 
how it got over here. Some })eo})le think it was carried 
off by Governor Hutchinson, the Tory governor ; other 
peo})le think it was carried off by British soldiers when 
Boston was evacuated ; but in either case the property 
would not have changed. Or, if you treat it as a l)ooty, 
in which last case, I su[)pose, l)y the law of nations ordi- 
nary property does change, no civilized nation in modern 




FULH AM PALAOE.S.W. 








Heturn of the Manuscript. 9 1 

times applies that principle to the })ro})erty of libraries and 
institutions of learniuir." 

"Well," said the Bishop, "I did not know you cared 
anything al)()ut it." 

"Why," said I, "if there were in existence in England 
a history of King Alfred's reign for thirty years, written 
hy his own hand, it would not be more precious in the 
eyes of Englishmen than this manuscri})t is to us." 

"Well," said he, "I think myself it ought to go back, 
and if it dei)ended on me it would have gone back before 
this. But the Americans who have l)een here — many of 
them have l)een commercial peo})le — did not seem to care 
much aljout it except as a curiosity. I suppose I ought 
not to give it u}) on my own authority. It belongs to 
me in my official capacity, and not as private or })ersonaI 
})ro})erty. 1 think I ought to consult the Arch))isho}) of 
Canterbury. And, indeed," he added, "I think I ought to 
speak to the Queen al)Out it. We should not do such a 
thing behind Her Majesty's l)ack." 

I said : " Verj^ well. When I go home 1 will have a 
proi)er ajiplication made from some of our litei'ary socie- 
ties, and ask you to give it consideration." 

I saw Mr. Bayard again, and told him the story. He 
was at the train when I left London for the steamer at 
Southampton. He entered with great interest into the 
matter, and told me again he would gladly do anything in 
his })()wer to forward it. 

When I got home I communicated with Secretary Olney 
al)out it, who took a kindly interest in the matter, and 
wrote to Mr. Bajard that the administration desired he 
should do everything in his power to promote the applica- 
tion. The matter was then brought to the attention of the 
Council of the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth 
and the New England Society of New York. These bodies 
appointed committees to unite in the a})})lication. Gov- 



92 American Antiquarian Society. 

ernor Wolcott was also consulted, who gave his hearty 
approbation to the movement, and a letter was dispatched 
through Mr. Bayard. 

Meantime Bishop Tem})le, with whom I had my conver- 
sation, had himself become Archl)ish()}) of Canterbury, 
and in that capacity Primate of all England. His suc- 
cessor, Kev. Dr. Creighton, had been the delegate of John 
Harvard's College to the great celebration at Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1886, on the two hundred and fiftieth anniver- 
sary of its foundation. He had received the degree of 
doctor of laAvs from the universit)% had l)e:en a guest of 
President Eliot, and had received President Eliot as his 
guest in England. 

He is an accomplished historical scholar, and very 
friendly in sentiment to the peoi)le of the United States. 
So, l)y great good fortune, the two eminent ecclesiastical 
})ersonages who were to have a powerful influence in the 
matter were likely to be exceedingly well disj)osed. Dr. 
Benjamin A. Gould, the famous mathematician, Avas 
api)oiuted one of the committee of the American Antiqua- 
rian Society. He died suddenly, just after a letter to the 
Bislio]) of London was prepared and about to be sent to 
him for signing. He took a very zealous interest in the 
matter. The letter formally asked for the return of the 
manuscript, and was signed by the following-named gentle- 
men : George F. Hoar, Ste})lien Salisbury, Edward Everett 
Hale, Samuel A. Green, for the American Anti(]uarian 
Society ; Charles Francis Adams, William Lawrence, 
Charles W. Eliot, for the Massachusetts Historical Society ; 
Arthur Lord, William M. Evarts, William T. Davis, for 
the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth ; Charles C. Beanian, 
Joseph H. Choate, J. Pierpont Morgan, for the Ncav 
England Society of New York ; Roger Wolcott, Governor 
of Massachusetts. 

The rarest good fortune seems to have attended every 
step in this transaction. 




r>z& 



THE RIGHT HONORABLE AND MOST REVEREND 

FREDERICK TEMPLE, D.D., 

Archbishop of Canterbury. 



,t. 



Return of the Manuscript. 93 

I was fortunate in having formed the frienclshi}) of Mr. 
Grenfell, which secured to me so cordial a reception from 
the Bishop of London. 

It was fortunate that the Bisho}) of London was Dr. 
Temple, an eminent scholar, kindly disi)osed toward the 
people of the United States, and a man thoroughly capable 
of understanding and respecting the deep and holy senti- 
ment which a compliance with our desire was to gratify. 

It was fortunate, too, that Bishop Temple, who thought 
he must have the approbation of the Archl)ishop before his 
action, wiien the time came had himself become Arch- 
bishop of Canter1)ury and Primate of all England. 

It was fortunate that Dr. Creighton h d succeeded to 
the see of London. He is, hims f, as I have just said, 
an eminent historical scholar. 1^. has many friends in 
America. He was the delegate of Emmanuel, John Har- 
vard's College, at the great Harvard celebration in 188(3. 
He received the degree of doctor of laws at Harvard and 
is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and 
the American Anti(iuarian Society. He had, as I have 
said, entertained President Eliot as his guest in England. 

It was fortunate, too, that the application came in a 
time of cordial good- will between the two countries, when 
the desire of John Adams and the longing of George HI. 
have their ample and complete fulfilment. This token of 
the good-will of England reached Boston on the eve of the 
l)irthday of the illustrious sovereign, who is not more 
venerated and beloved Iw her own subjects than 1)}' the 
kindred people across the sea. 

It comes to us at the time of the rejoicing of the Eng- 
lish people at the sixtieth anniversary of a reign more 
crowded with l)enefit to humanity than any other known 
in the annals of the race. Upon the power of England, 
the sceptre, the trident, the lion, the army and the fleet, 
the monster ships of war, the all-shattering guns, the 
American people are strong enough now to look with an 



94 American Antiquarian Society. 

entire indifference. We encounter her commerce and her 

manufactures in the spirit of a generous emulation. The 

inheritance from which Eng-land has learned these things 

is ours also. We, too, arc of the Saxon strain. 

lu our halls is hung 
Armoury of the invincible knights of old. 

Our temple covers a continent, and its porches are upon 
both the seas. Our fathers knew the secret to la}', in 
Christian liberty and law, the foundations of empire. Our 
young men are not ashamed, if need l)e, to speak with the 
enemy in the gate. 

But to the illustrious lady, type of gentlest womanhood, 
model of mother and wife and friend, who came at eigh- 
teen to the throne of George IV. and William ; of purer 
eyes than to l)chold inicjuity ; the maiden presence 1)efore 
which everything unholy shrank ; the sovereign who, dur- 
ing her long reign, "ever knew the people that she ruled" ; 
tlie royal nature that disdained to strike at her kingdom's 
rival in the hour of our sorest need ; the heart which even 
in the bosom of a (]ueen l)eat with sympathy for the cause 
of constitutional libert}' ; who, herself not unac(iuaintcd 
with grief, laid on the coffin of our dead Garfield the 
wreath fragrant with a sister's sympathy, — to her our 
repu])lican manhood does not disdain to bend. 

The eagle, lord of land and sea, 
Will stoop to pay her fealty. 

But I am afraid this a})})lication might have had the fate 
of its predecessors but for our special good fortune in the 
fact that Mr. Bayard was our Amliassador at the Court of 
St. James. He had l)een, as I said in the ])eginning, the 
ambassador not so much of the diplomacy as of the good- 
will of the American peoi)le. Before his powerful influ- 
ence every obstacle gave way. It was almost impossible 
for Englishmen to refuse a request like this, made by him, 
and in which his own sympathies were so profoundly 
enlisted. 



Return of the Manuscrii^t. 95 

You are entitled, sir, to the oratitude of Massachusetts, 
to the gratitude of eveiy lover of Massachusetts and of 
every lover of the countiy. You have succeeded whei'c so 
many others have failed, and where so many others would 
have l)een likely to fail. You may be sure that our debt 
to you is fully understood and will not be forgotten. 

The question of the permanent abiding-place of this 
manuscript will l)e settled after it has reached the hands 
of His Excellency. Wherever it shall go it will be an 
ol)ject of reverent care. I do not think niau}^ Americans 
will gaze upon it without a little trembling of the lips and 
a little gathering of mist in the eyes, as they think of the 
story of suffering, of sorrow, of peril, of exile, of death 
and of lofty triumph which that book tells, — which the 
hand of the m-eat leader and founder of America has traced 
on those pages. 

There is nothing like it in human annals since the story 
of Bethlehem. These Englishmen and Englishwomen 
going out from their homes in beautiful Lincoln and York, 
wife separating from hus])and and mother from child in 
that hurried embarkation for Holland, pursued to the 
beach by English horsemen ; the thirteen years of exile ; 
the life at Amsterdam " in alley foul and lane obscure " ; 
the dwelling at Ley den ; the embarkation at Delfthaven ; 
the farewell of Robinson ; the terrible voyage across the 
Atlantic ; the compact in the harl)or ; the landing on the 
rock ; the dreadful first winter ; the death roll of more 
than half the number ; the days of suffering and of famine ; 
the wakeful night, listening for the yell of wild beast and 
the war-whoop of the savage ; the building of the State on 
those sure foundations which no wave or tempest has ever 
shaken; the breaking of the new light; the dawning of 
the new day ; the beginning of the new life ; tlie enjoy- 
ment of peace with liberty, — of all these things this is the 
original record by the hand of our beloved father and 
founder. Massachusetts will preserve it until the time 



96 American Antiquarian Society, 

shall come that her children are unworthy of it ; and that 
time shall come, — never. 

ADDRESS OF AMBASSADOR BAYARD. 

Your Excellency, Gentlemen of the two Houses of 
THE Legislature of Massachusetts, Ladies and Gen- 
tlemen, Felloa\'-Countrymen : The honoral)le and most 
oTatilying dut}' with which I am charged is about to receive 
its final act of execution, for I have the l)ook here, and 
here I produce it as it was placed in im^ hands by the 
Lord Bishop of London on April 29, intact then and now ; 
and I am about to deliver it according to the provisions of 
the decree of the Chancellor of London, which has been 
read in your })resence, and the receipt signed by me and 
registered in his court that I would obe}' the provisions of 
that decree. 

I have kept my trust ; I have kept the book as I received 
it ; I shall deliver it into the hands of the representative 
of the people who are entitled to its custody. 

And now, gentlemen, it would 1)e superfluous for me 
to dwell u})on the historical features of this remarkable 
occasion, for it has been done, as we all knew it would l)e 
done, with ability, learning, eloquence and impressive- 
ness, by the distinguished Senator who represents you so 
well in the Congress of the United States. 

For all that related to myself, and for every gracious 
word of recognition and commendation that fell from his 
lips in relation to the part that I have taken in the act of 
restoration, I am profoundly grateful. It is an additional 
reward, but not the reward which induced my action. 

To have served your State, to have been instrumental in 
such an act of this, was of itself a high privilege to me. 
The Bradford Manuscript was in the liltrar}^ of Fulham 
palace, and if, l)y lawful means, I could have become pos- 
sessed of the volume, and could have brought it here and 
quietly deposited it, I should have gone to my home with 



Return of the Manuscript. 97 

the great satisfaction of knowing that I had performed an 
act of justice, an act of right between two countries. 
Therefore the praise, however gratefid, is additional, and 
I am ver}^ thankful for it. 

It may not be inappropriate or unpleasing to yow should 
I state in a ver}' simple manner the history of my relation 
to the return of this l)ook, for it all has occurred within the 
last twelve months. 

I knew of the existence of this manuscript ; I had seen 
the reproduction in facsimile. I knew that attempts had 
been made unsuccessfully to ol)tain the original liook. 

At that time Senator Hoar made a short visit to Enff- 
land, and in passing through London I Avas informed hy 
him of the great interest that he, in common with the 
people of this State, had in the restoration of this manu- 
script to the custody of the State. 

We discussed the methods by which it might be ac- 
complished, and after two or three mutually concurrent 
suggestions he returned to the United States, and present]}^ 
I received, under cover from the Secretary of State, — a 
distinguished citizen of your own State, Mr. Olne}', — a 
formal note, suggesting rather than instructing that in an 
informal manner I should endeavor to have carried out the 
wishes of the various societies who had addressed them- 
selves to the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, in order to obtain the return of this manu- 
script. 

It necessarily had to be done informally. The strict 
regulations of the office I then occupied forbade my corres- 
pondence with any member of the British government 
except through the foreign office, unless it were informal. 
An old saying describes the entire case, that "Where 
there 's a will there 's a way." There certainlj^ was the will 
to get the book, and there certainly was also a will and a 
way to give the book, and that way was discovered hy the 
legal custodians of the book itself. 



98 American Antiquarian Society. 

At first there were sugge.stion.s of some difficulty, some 
technical questions ; and fohowhio; a rule, and a very safe 
rule, the first thoug-ht was. What is the law? and the case 
was submitted to the law officers of the Crown, Then 
there became the necessity of an act of permission. 

There was to be entertained no question as to the title to 
the manuscript in the possession of the British government. 
There was no authority to grant a claim, founded on 
adverse title, and the question arose for a form of law of a 
permissive rather than of a mandatory nature, in order for 
it to be authoritative with those who had charge of the 
document. 

But, as I said, when there was a will there was found a 
way. Bv personal correspondence, by personal interviews 
with the Bishop of London, I soon discovered that he was 
as anxious to find the Av^ay as I was that he should find it. 
In the month of last March it was finally agreed that I 
should employ legal counsel to present formal petition and 
proceeding in the Episcopal Consistorial Court of London, 
and there l)efore the Chancellor to lay the strong desire of 
Massachusetts and her people for the return of the record 
of her early Governor. 

Accordingly, the petition was prepared, and by ni}^ 
authority signed as for me hy an eminent member of the 
liar, and that petition was also signed l)y the Bishop of 
London, so that there was a complete consensus. The 
decree was ordered as it is published in the London 
"Times " on March 25 last, and nothing after that remained 
but formalities, in which, as you are well aware, the Eng- 
lish law is not lacking, especially in the ecclesiastical tri- 
bunals. 

These formalities were carried out during my absence 
from London on a short visit, and the decree which you 
have heard read was duly entered on A})ril 12 last, 
consigning the document to my personal custody, to be 
delivered by me in this city to the high official therein 



Return of the MavKMcr^pt. 99 

named, subject to those conditions which you have also 
heard. 

Accordinglj^ on the 29th of April I was summf)ned to 
the court, and there, having signed the receipt, this decree 
was read in my presence. There the Bishop of London 
arose, and, taking the book in his hands, delivered it with 
a few gracious words into my custod}^ and here it is to-day. 

The records of those proceedings will no doubt be pre- 
served here as accompanying this book, as they are of the 
Episcopal Consistorial Court in London, and the}' tell the 
entire stor3\ 

But that is l)ut part. The thing that I wish to impress 
upon you, and upon my fellow-countrymen throughout the 
United States, is that this is an act of courtesy and friend- 
ship by another government — the go^'ernnlent of what we 
once called our " mother country " — to the entire people of 
the LTnited States. 

You cannot limit it to the Governor of the Common- 
wealth ; you cannot limit it to the Legislature ; you cannot 
limit it to the citizens of this Commonwealth. It extends 
in its courtes}^ in its kindness and comity to the entire 
people of the United States. From first to last there was 
the ready response of courtesy and kindness to the request 
for the restoration of this manuscript record. 

I may say to yon that there has l)een nothing that I have 
sought more earnestly than to place the affairs of these 
two great nations in the atmosphere of mutual confidence 
and respect and good-will. If it be a sin to long for the 
honor of one's countrj^ , for the safety and strength of one's 
country, then I have been a great sinner, for I have striven 
to advance the honor and the safety and the Avelfare of my 
countr}^, and believed it Avas best accomplished ])y treating 
all with justice and courtesy, and doing those things to 
others Avhich we Avould ask to have done to ourselves. 

When the Chancellor pronounced his decree in March 
last, he cited certain precedents to justify him in restoring 



100 American Antiqimrian Society. 

this volume to where it ])elongs. One precedent which 
powerfully controlled his decision, and which in the closing 
portion of his judgment he emphasizes, was an act of gen- 
erous lil)erality upon the part of the Library Company of 
Philadeli)hia in voluntarily returning to the British gov- 
ernment some volumes of original manuscript of the period 
of James the First which l)y some means not very clearly 
explained had found their way among the books of that 
institution. 

Those ])ooks were received l)y a very distinguished man. 
Lord Romilly, Master of the Rolls, who took occasion to 
speak of the liberality and kindness which dictated the 
action of the Philadelphia library. Gentlemen, I am one 
of those who believe that a generous and kindly act is 
never unwise between individuals or nations. 

The return of this book to you is an echo to the kindly 
act of your countrymen in the city of Philadelphia in 1866. 

It is that ; not, as Mr. Hoar has said, any influence or 
special effort of mine ; but it is the desire to enlist inter- 
national good feeling and comity which l)rought about to 
you the pleasure and the joy of having this manuscript 
returned, and so it will ever l)e. A generous act will beget 
a generous act ; trust and confidence will beget trust and 
confidence ; and so it will be while the Avorld shall last, and 
well will it be for the man or for the people who shall 
recognize this truth and act upon it. 

Now, gentlemen, there is another coincidence that I may 
venture to point out. It is history repeating itself. More 
than three hundred years ago the ancestors from whom my 
father drew his name and l)lood were French Protestants, 
who were compelled to flee from the religious persecutions 
of that da}^, and for the sake of conscience to find an 
asylum in Holland. Fifty years after they had fled and 
found safety in Holland, the little congregation of Inde- 
pendents from the English village of Scrooby, under the 
pastorate of John Robinson, were forced to fly, and with 



Return of the Ma7iuscript . 101 

difficulty found their way into the same country of the 
Netherlands, seeking an asylum for their consciences' sake. 

Time passed on. The little English colony removed, as 
the history in this manuscript of William Bradford Avill 
tell you, across the Atlantic, and soon after the Huguenot 
family from whom I drcAv my name found their first settle- 
ment in what was then the New Netherlands, now New 
York. Both came from the same cause ; both came with 
the same object, the same })urpose, — "soul freedom," as 
Roger Williams well called it. Both came to found homes 
where they could worship God according to their own 
conscience and live as free men. They came to these 
shores, and they have found the asylum, and they have 
strengthened it, and it is what we see today, — a country 
of absolute religious and civil freedom, — of e(|ual rights 
and toleration. 

And is it not fitting that I, who have in my veins the 
blood of the Huguenots, should present to 3'ou and your 
Governor the log of the English emigrants, Avho left their 
country for the sake of religious freedom? 

They are blended here, — their names, their interests. 
No man asks and no man has a right to ask or have ascer- 
tained l)y any method authorized hy law what is the con- 
scientious religious tenet or o})inion of any man, of any 
citizen, as a prerequisite for holding an office of trust or 
power in the United States. 

I think it well on this occasion to make, as I am sure 
you are making, acknowledgment to that heroic little coun- 
tr}^ the Lowlands as they call it, the Netherlands, — the 
country without one single feature of military defence 
except the l)rave hearts of the men avIio live in it and 
defend it. 

Holland Avas the anvil u}X)n which religious and civil 
liberty was beaten out in Eiu'ope at a time when the clang 
was scarcely heard anywhere else. We can never forget 
our .historical debt to that countrj^ and to those people. 



102 American Antiquarian Society. 

Puritan, Independent, Huguenot, whoever he ma}^ be, 
fleeing or forced to flee for con.science's sake, will not for- 
get that in the Netherlands there Avas found in his time of 
need the as)dum Avhere conscience, })ropert>^ and person 
might l)e secure. 

And now my task is done. I am deeply grateful for the 
part that I have l)een enabled to take in this act of just and 
natiu'al restitution. In Massachusetts or out of Massachu- 
setts there is no one more willing than I to assist this work ; 
and here, sir [addressing Governor Wolcott], I fulfil my 
trust in presenting to 3^ou the manuscri})t. 

To you, as the honored re})resentative of the peo})le of 
this Commonwealth, I conmiit this book, in })ursuance of 
my ol)ligations, gladly undertaken under the decree of the 
Episcopal Consistorial Court of London. 



ADDRESS OF G0VERN(3R WOLCOTT. 

On receiving the volume, Governor Wolcott, addressing 
Mr. Bayard, spoke as follows : I thank you, sir, for the 
diligent and faithful manner in which you have executed 
the honorable trust imposed u})on you by the decree of the 
Consistorial and E])iscopal Court in London, a cop}' of 
which you have now placed in my hands. It was fitting 
that one of your high distinction should be selected to 
perform so dignified an office. 

The gracious act of international courtesy which is now 
com})leted Avill not fail of grateful ai)preciation by the 
people of this Commonwealth and of the Nation. It is 
lion oral )h' alike to those who hesitated not to })r€^ier the 
recpicst and to those whose generous lil)erality has })ronipted 
comi)liance with it. It may be that the stor}^ of the de- 
parture of this precious Avork from our shores may never 
in its ever}^ detail Ije revealed ; but the stor}^ of its return 
will be read of all men, and Avill Ijecome a part of the 



Return of the Manuscript. 103 

history of the Coiiiiiionwealth. There are })hice8 and 
objects so intimately associated with the workl's greatest 
men or with miohty deeds that the soul of him who o;azes 
upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it listens 
to the voice that speaks from the })ast, in words like those 
which came from the burning bush, "Put off thy shoes 
from off thy feet, for the })lace whereon thou standest is 
holy ground." 

On the slo})ing hillside of Plymouth, that ])athes its feet 
in the waters of the Atlantic, such a voice is breathed hy 
the brooding genius of the place, and the ear must 1)e dull 
that fails to catch the whispered words. For here not 
alone did godly men and women suffer greatly for a great 
cause, but their noble purpose was not doomed to defeat, 
but was carried to i)erfect victory. They estaldished what 
they planned. Their feeble i)lantation l)ecame the Ijirth- 
l)lace of religious liberty, the cradle of a free Common- 
wealth. To them a mighty nation owns its debt. Nay, 
they have made the civilized world their debtor. In the 
varied tapestry which pictures our national life, the richest 
si)ots are those where gleam the golden threads of con- 
science, courage and faith, set in the wel) hy that little 
band. May God in his mercy grant that the moral impulse 
which founded this nation may never cease to control its 
destiny ; that no act of any future generation may i)ut in 
peril the fundamental principles on which it is based, — of 
e(|ual rights in a free state, etjual privileges in a free church 
and ecjual oi)})ortunities in a free school. 

In this precious volume Avhich I hold in my hands — the 
gift of England to the Coumion wealth of ^Massachusetts — 
is told the n()l)le, sini})le story of the Plymouth Plantation. 
In the midst of suffering aiul ])rivati()n and anxiety the 
pious hand of William Bradford here set doAvn in ample 
detail the historj^ of the enterprise from its inception to the 
3^ear 1647. From him we may learn "that all great and 
honoural)le actions are accompanied with great difficulties, 



104 American Ayitiquarian Society. 

and must be both enterprised and overcome with answer- 
able courages." 

The sadness and pathos Avhich some might read into the 
narrative are to me lost in victory. The triumph of a 
noble cause even at a great i)rice is theme for rejoicing and 
not for sorrow. And the story here told is one of triumph- 
ant achievement, and not of defeat. 

As the official representative of the Commonwealth, 1 
receive it, sir, at your hands. I pledge the faith of the 
Commonwealth that for all time it shall be guarded in 
accordance with the terms of the decree under which it 
is delivered into her possession as one of her chiefest 
treasures. I express the thanks of the Commonwealth for 
the priceless gift. And I venture the proi)hecy that for 
countless years to come and to untold thousands these 
mute pages shall elociuentl}' speak of high resolve, gi*eat 
suffering and heroic endurance made possible b}^ an al)so- 
lute faith in the over-ruling providence of Almighty God. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

JOURNAL OF THE SENATE. 

Monday, May 24, 1897. 

The following message from His Excellency the Gov- 
ernor came uj) from the House, to wit : — 

Boston, May 22, 1897. 

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives. 

I have the honcn- to call to your attention the fact that 
Wednesday, May 2(), at 11 a. m., has l)een fixed as the 
date of the formal })rescntation to the Governor of the 
(\)nnnon wealth of the Bradford Manuscript History, re- 
cently ordered by decree of the Consistory Court of the 
Diocese of London to be returned to the Ccmnnonwealth 
of Massachusetts l)y the hands of the Honoral)le Thomas 
F. Bayard, lately Aml)assador at the Court of St, James ; 
and to suiiuest for the favorable consideration of your 



Iletuvn of the Manusa'ipt. 105 

honora])le Ixxlies that the exercises of presentation be hekl 
in the House of Representatives on the da}^ and hour aljove 
given, in the presence of a joint convention of the two 
bodies and of invited guests and the public. 

ROGER WOLCOTT. 

Thereupon, on motion of Mr. Roe, — 

Ordered, That, in accordance with the suggestion of 
His Excellency the Governor, a joint convention of the 
two l)ranches be held in the chamljer of the House of 
Representatives, on Wednesday, May the twenty-sixth, at 
eleven o'clock a. m., for the purpose of witnessing the 
exercises of the formal presentation, to the Governor of 
the Commonwealth, of the Bradford Manuscript Historj^, 
recently ordered by decree of the Consistory Court of the 
Diocese of London to be returned to the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts by the hands of the Honoral)le Thomas 
F. Bayard, lately Ambassador at the Court of St. James ; 
and further 

Oi'dered, That the clerks of the two Ijranches give notice 
to His Excellency the Governor of the adoption of this 
order. 

Sent down for concurrence. (It was concurred with on 
the same day.) 

JOURNAL OF THE SENATE. 
Wednesday, May 26, 1897. 

Joint Convention. 

At eleven o'clock a. m., pursuant to assignment, the 
two branches met in 

Convention 

in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. 

On motion of Mr. Roe, — 

Ordered, That a committee, to consist of three meml)ers 
of the Senate and eight members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, be appointed, to wait upon His Excellency the 
8 



106 American Antiquarian Society. 

Governor and inform him that the two branches are now 
in convention for the purpose of witnessing the exercises 
of the formal presentation, to the Governor of the Com- 
mon Avealth, of the Bradford Manuscript History. 

Messrs. Roe, Woodward and Gallivan, of the Senate, 
and Messrs. Pierce of Milton, Bailey of Phauouth, Brown 
of Gk)ucester, Fairbank of Warren, Bailey of Newljury, 
Sanderson of Ljam, Whittlesey of Pittsfield and Bartlett 
of Boston, of the House, were the committee. 

Mr. Koe, from the committee, afterwards reported that 
they had attended to the duty assigned them, and that His 
Excellency the Governor had been pleased to sa}^ that he 
received the message and should l)e pleased to wait upon 
the Convention forthwith for the purpose named. 

His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by His 
Honor the Lieutenant-Governor and the Honorable Coun- 
cil, and hy the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately 
Ambassador of the United States at the Court of St. 
eTames's, the Honorable George F. Hoar, Senator from 
Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States, and 
other invited guests, entered the chamber. 

The decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of 
London, authorizing the return of the manuscript and its 
delivery to the Governor, was read. 

The President then presented the Honorable George F. 
Hoar, Avho gave an account of the manuscript and of the 
many efforts that had been made to secure its return. 

Tlie Honorable Thomas F. Bayard was then introduced 
l)y the President, and he formallj^ presented the manuscript 
to His Excellency the Governor, who accepted it in behalf 
of the Commonwealth. 

On motion of Mr. Bradford, the following order was 
ado})ted : — 

Whereas, In the presence of the Senate and of the House 
of Representatives in joint convention assembled, and in 
accordance Avith a decree of the Consistorial and Ei)isco})al 
Court of London, the manuscri})t of Bradford's "History 
of the Plimouth Plantation " has this day been delivered to 



Return of the Manuscript. 107 

His Excellency the Governor of the Commonwealth l)y the 
Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador of the 
United States at the Court of St. James ; and 

Whereas, His Excellency the Governor has accepted the 
said manuscript in behalf of the Commonwealth ; therefore, 
be it 

Ordered, That the Senate and the House of Representa- 
tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts place on 
record their high appreciation of the generous and gracious 
courtesy that promi)ted this act of international good-will, 
and express their grateful thanks to all concerned therein, 
and especially to the Lord Bishop of London, for the 
return to the Commonwealth of this precious relic ; and be 
it further 

Ordered, That His Excellency the Governor be requested 
to transmit an engrossed and duly authenticated copy of 
this order with its preamble to the Lord Bishop of London. 

His Excellency, accompanied by the other dignitaries, 
then withdrew, the Convention was dissolved, and the 
Senate returned to its chamber. 

Subsequently a resolve was passed (approved June 10, 
1897) providing for the publication of the history from 
the original manuscript, together with a report of the pro- 
ceedings of the joint convention, such report to be pre- 
pared by a committee consisting of one member of the 
Senate and two members of the House of Representatives, 
and to include, so far as practicable, portraits of His 
Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott, William Bradford, 
the Honoral)le George F. Hoar, the Honorable Thomas F. 
Bayard, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Bishop 
of London ; facsimiles of the pages from the manuscript 
history, and a picture of the book itself ; copies of the 
decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London, 
the receipt of the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard for the 
manuscript, and the receipt sent by His Excellency the 
Governor to the Consistorial and Episcopal Court ; an 
account of the legislative action taken with reference to the 
presentation and reception of the manuscript ; the addresses 



108 American Antiquarian Society. 

of the Honorable George F. Hoar, the Honorable Thomas 
F. Ba3^ard and His Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott ; 
and such other papers and illustrations as the committee 
might deem advisable ; the whole to be printed under the 
direction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the 
book distributed by him according to directions contained 
in the resolve. 

Senator Alfred S. Roe of Worcester and Representatives 
Francis C. Lowell of Boston and Walter L. Bouve of 
Hingham were appointed as the committee. 



r 



EFe'07 



